Pop psychology gospel says it takes three weeks to make a habit stick. Just ask anyone with a Pinterest account, where elaborate, 21-day “life hacks” are pinned into ubiquity. Fast-food monolith McDonald’s knows it, too: Why else would it discount its coffee to a dollar a cup just long enough to make you change your […]
Transit
Posted inNews + Opinion
Why you should give taking public transit a try
Cars aren’t always the most convenient choice. But car culture is deeply ingrained in our society, and this means cars live in our minds as the quickest/ easiest/ best choice for getting around. For many, owning a car is a marker of success. Cars can represent adulthood, freedom and—if you’re anything like me—your car enables […]
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Halifax’s accessibility advisory committee’s town hall dominated by talk of inadequate transportation.
A few dozen residents turned up for a Tuesday evening town hall discussion on accessibility in HRM at Cole Harbour Place. The Advisory Committee on Accessibility town hall panel included representatives from Halifax’s winter operations and recreation teams, 311 contact centres and more. Attendees made a point of discussing the state of Halifax’s accessible transit […]
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Regional council approves changes to update taxi industry rules
Halifax Regional Council passed the first reading of by-law 1003 and administrative order 39 which moves the process for long-overdue updates to the rules and regulations in HRM’s taxi industry forward. Among the changes is making debit or credit machines mandatory, getting rid of the Halifax, Dartmouth and County zones to make one mega zone, […]
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Next stop: transit fare increases
Proposed changes to transit fares for kids, adults and seniors were approved by the transportation standing committe this week. If things go ahead according to schedule, adult fares for Halifax Transit will go up from $2.50 to $2.75 on September 30—an increase that was approved during the 2019/2020 budget process. The extra quarter will fund […]
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First phase of transit priority approved for Robie and Young streets
Transit priority lanes like the ones added on Gottingen Street are coming to Robie and Young streets. This week Halifax Regional Council approved phase one of the plan, which will see time-restricted bus lanes on weekdays from 6am-6pm on Robie Street from Young Street to Quinpool Road—hopefully speeding up routes 80, 81 and 7—and a […]
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7 things to know about Turo car-sharing service’s arrival in Nova Scotia
Turo is a big deal in the sharing economy, serving as the Airbnb of car rentals for about 10 million people around the world. But you can be forgiven if you’ve never heard of it, because Turo hasn’t been available in Nova Scotia—until today. To drive attention for the local launch, Turo Canada’s managing director, […]
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Transit updates, parking promises and something that was Yarmouth’s idea first
H alifax Transit gave a third-quarter key indicator report, noting that there’s been just under 10,000 transit passes given out through the department of community services’ pilot project, and over 1,000 of those have been given to children. And Dave Reage, director of Halifax Transit, says they’ve been working towards the goal of having Access-A-Bus […]
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Soon it’ll be easier to ignore each other on public transit
Council’s work to get more wifi in more places gets a nudge after approving a public transit wifi pilot project, and looking into rejigging the locations of some public wifi locations. The approved pilot project will outfit 20 buses with wifi for 12 months and report back with a plan for wifi hotspots at three […]
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Council to consider cutting construction costs for affordable housing projects
Council approved deputy mayor Tony Mancini’s motion to incentivize non-profits working in affordable housing to actually break ground. His motion asking for a staff report on what waving municipal construction fees for non-profits passed this week with an amendment from councillor Lindell Smith making sure eligible non-profits actually work within the realm of affordable housing. […]
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Halifax taxi reform highlights accessibility
Uber’s inevitable arrival inches closer after council’s transportation standing committee sent the Vehicle for Hire Licensing Program Review through to council Tuesday morning. With a few amendments, the staff report, based on Hara Consultants review will make big changes for the municipality’s taxi drivers from increasing training for drivers, adding GPS in cars, making credit […]
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Doing less means more for city streets
Transport diversity? Just cram more into our streets! Add a transit priority route, cycle lanes, more space for pedestrians. But we’ll need to keep everyone happy by maintaining plenty of room for traffic—including those precious dedicated turning lanes—and oodles of on-street parking fit for a fleet of Yukon XLs. All of this and more for […]