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Once again we thank the Big Lift for its upcoming 18-month-long disruption of our lives.

Starting next week, Halifax Transit won’t travel across the Macdonald Bridge after 6:30pm (from Sunday through Thursday). To compensate, HT will run a special shuttle service between Halifax and Dartmouth five nights a week.
Which is confusing, since Halifax Harbour Bridges is running its own shuttle service starting in June. The bridge commission plans to use its three new 17-seat shuttles to make up for the Macdonald Bridge’s year-and-a-half lack of sidewalks and bike lanes.
Technically one option is for transit riders and one is for walkers and cyclists, but both will get you across the harbour in a pinch.
Let’s leave the speculation on why both organizations couldn’t have worked on a collaborative, less convoluted single transit system for another day.
What matters is you: the commuting/walking/cycling/nightlife-attending resident of HRM. Which pain-in-the-ass is right for you? We’ve prepared this handy chart to help residents make the most informed decision about how to be inconvenienced.
 |
 |
| Halifax Transit | HHB |
| When does it start? | |
|---|---|
| February 23, a few days before the Macdonald starts closing to traffic in the evenings. | End of June, when the bridge’s bike lanes and sidewalks are removed. |
| How much does it cost? | |
|---|---|
| Regular bus fares apply | Free! |
| Expected route | |
|---|---|
| Scotia Square to the Bridge Terminal whenever the MacDonald is open to regular traffic, and over the MacKay to the Highfield and Bridge terminals when it’s closed. | |
| What times does it run? | |
|---|---|
| Sundays through Thursdays, at 10-minute intervals from 6:30 to 10:30pm and every 15 minutes after that. | 24 hours, with projected 20 minutes departures on either side of the harbour. |
| Meant to replace | |
|---|---|
| Bus routes 1, 10, 14, 41, 52, 61, 159, 320 | Sidewalks for walkers, bike paths for cyclists |
| How convenient is it? | |
|---|---|
| You’ll have to transfer off the bus you were riding, onto the shuttle and then back onto another bus once you’re over the bridge. Hopefully those will all connect. | Free, 24-hour, 20-minute service is hard to beat. The only drawback is the Halifax |
| Number of bicycles each holds? | |
|---|---|
| Two | 14 |
| Who should take it? | |
|---|---|
| If you already have a bus pass, or you want to depart from/arrive at Scotia Square. Anyone going to Highfield may get there quicker if the Macdonald is closed. | If it’s before 6:30pm, you have a bike, you don’t have bus fare, or you’re anywhere in the north end closer to Cornwallis Street than Scotia Square. |
| Any other options? | |
|---|---|
| Starting March 2, ferry service to-and-from Alderney will increase to every 15 minutes after 6pm. Sunday service will now start at 6:30am and run on a 30-minute rotation. | It only takes a few more minutes to bike down to the ferry, but then you’ll be paying transit costs. Really, it depends on how many lazy bums just use the shuttles as free transit across the bridge. |
Related Stories
Big Lift to be a big drag
What can you expect from the Big Lift?
The bridge shuttle just got slightly less inconvenient
What’s that noise at night in the north end?
This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2015.
Another pro/con:
Pro: Taking Halifax Transit lets you wait in relative comfort and safety in the Bridge Terminal, and drops you at a similar location.
Con: Taking the HHB shuttle leaves you standing in a deserted parking lot for up to 20 minutes, in whatever weather is happening, possibly in the dead of night. Same goes for the current drop-off point. Does HHB have any plans for the security & comfort of their captive shuttle users?
Also wheelchair users beware, the buses the hub are using, are shit, large scooters or heavy duty/large wheelchairs are not going to be accommodated, the lift on these buses is crap ( yes I’ve had a lot of experience with them, yes I’m a wheelchair user)
The HHB bought 4 buses at 150k per. As of today, July 13, 2 of these buses are out of service, waited 30 minutes to get across the bridge at 730 this morning, lots of people waiting. The people who are working on or as support for these shuttles are generally hostile to any comment or criticism, and don’t care about us because we are ‘non-revenue producers’. If everyone who took that shuttle drove a car across instead, there would be more traffic, and those clowns would be out of a job..