Halifax Transit route 61 'North Preston'
61 North Preston
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| Created | 1980 Revised 2021 | |||||||||
| Types of Busses Used | New Flyer D40LF Nova Bus LFS Artic | |||||||||
| Number of Branches | 1 | |||||||||
| Route Type | Local | |||||||||
| Distance | 15km | |||||||||
| Ridership (2020) | ||||||||||
| Frequencies | ||||||||||
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| Mid-day/Evening | every 60 minutes | |||||||||
| Peak periods | inactive | |||||||||
| Late Night | every 60 minutes | |||||||||
| Saturdays | every 60 minutes | |||||||||
| Sunday/Holidays | every 60 minutes | |||||||||
Halifax Transit route 61 North Preston provides service from the community of North Preston near Westphal and the Cole Harbour/Forest Hills area to Portland Hills Terminal. In 2021 as part of Halifax Transit's Moving Forward Together Plan, the route was modified to no longer service Dartmouth or Halifax. As part of this move, it no is longer a thru route with the now discontinued route 14 Leiblin Park. In the change, the route was further modified to no longer service Auburn Drive, with service being replaced by the route 68 Auburn - Cherrybrook. During peak times the route is replaced by route 161 North Preston Express, with service between University Avenue in Halifax and North Preston.
Up until 2004, the route terminated at the Bridge Terminal during off-peak times, but continued into downtown Halifax during rush hour. In 2004, it was announced the route would continue into downtown Halifax all day, and once it reached the Scotia Square terminal it would turn into a route 14 Leiblin Park and continue on. Metro Transit dubbed this process thru-routing. Conversely, the inbound route 14 from Leiblin Park turned into a route 61 Auburn North Preston when it reached the Scotia Square terminal, and continued on to Dartmouth.
The route was part of the high frequency Portland Corridor along with the routes 59 and 68, which providied a combined 10 minute (or better) service between the Portland Hills Terminal and Bridge Terminal (20 minutes on weekends). The corridor was discontinued in 2021 as part of the Moving Forward Together Plan, with service on Portland Street being replaced by one new route, route 5 Portland.
Terminals and Major Stops
The route 61 services the following terminals and major stops:
Destination Signs
| Destination Sign | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 61 | NORTH PRESTON VIA FOREST HILLS |
Outbound to North Preston |
| 61 | PORTLAND HILLS VIA FOREST HILLS |
Inbound to Portland Hills Terminal |