Getting Around Halifax: Halifax Transit Buses and Harbour Ferries

The two ferry routes

Halifax Transit operates two ferry services across the harbour. The Alderney Ferry runs between downtown Halifax and downtown Dartmouth. The Woodside Ferry runs between downtown Halifax and Woodside.

The two are not interchangeable. Alderney runs seven days a week, with reduced service on holidays. Woodside has no Saturday, Sunday or holiday service at all, which makes it a commuter crossing rather than a general one.

• Alderney Ferry — downtown Halifax to downtown Dartmouth.
• Woodside Ferry — downtown Halifax to Woodside, weekdays only.
• Each Halifax Transit ferry carries the name of a figure connected to the region.

Fares and fare categories

Halifax Transit publishes its fares with a standing note that all fares are subject to change, and they are set through the municipal budget process. This guide therefore does not quote a price.

Fares are categorised by age, and the Regional Express routes have a separate, higher fare table with a top-up mechanism that lets you add a conventional ticket, a transfer or a monthly pass to cover the difference.

• Adult (18 to 64), Senior (65 and over), Youth (13 to 17) and Child (0 to 12). Children ride free.
• Fare products include single rides, tickets sold in bundles, 1-day, 2-day and 7-day passes, and a monthly pass — available on HFXGO, from retail partners and municipal Customer Service Centres, and by exact change on board.
• Monthly passes are sold from the twentieth day of the previous month to the tenth day of the month the pass is valid for.
• People aged 65 and over ride free every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and after 6 p.m.

HFXGO and fare capping

HFXGO is Halifax Transit’s mobile fare payment app, and it is where the system’s fare capping lives. Fare capping is available only to HFXGO users who create and verify an account, add funds to it, and use the Tap & Ride barcode feature.

The system tracks a rider’s usage and ensures they do not pay more than the cost of a daily or monthly pass. Once the cap is reached, further trips within that period are free, which means you get the lowest available fare without having to decide in advance whether a pass is worth buying.

Transfers

Halifax Transit runs two transfer systems, and which one applies depends on how you paid.

• Paper transfers are valid for up to 90 minutes after the end of the route, and may be used travelling inbound or outbound on any route or service. Punch marks specify the issue date, and the transfer is torn to indicate its expiry time. Ask the operator for one when you board and pay.
• HFXGO tickets are valid for 150 minutes, or two and a half hours, from activation. Once activated, you use the same mobile ticket or pass to transfer to another bus or ferry route.

Accessibility: Access-A-Bus and the conventional fleet

Access-A-Bus is a shared-ride, door-to-door transit service for people who are unable to use the conventional system because of physical or cognitive disabilities. It covers medical appointments as well as social, personal and recreational travel.

You must apply before you can become a passenger. The application has three parts: a declaration, the application itself, and a professional declaration completed by the applicant’s attending physician, nurse practitioner, occupational therapist or physiotherapist. Eligibility can be permanent, temporary for a three-month period, seasonal for winter, or conditional on travelling alone or on dialysis.

• Trips can be booked 24 hours before the intended travel date, or within a seven-day period for standing medical appointments and weekly errands.
• For regular appointments you book two trips: one to the location and one back.
• Up to five trips can be booked per day, with immediate confirmation.
• Wheelchairs and mobility scooters are carried within published maximum dimensions, and every device needs four anchor or tie-down points.

Planning a trip, and disruptions

Halifax Transit publishes routes and schedules, holiday schedules, route descriptions, real-time alerts, a snow plan and service change notices. Construction, events and weather all produce routine detours in a harbour city, so a schedule is a starting point rather than a promise.

• Check for service disruptions on the day you travel, particularly for harbour crossings and bridge-corridor routes.
• Build a buffer around transfers. Outside peak hours and at weekends, frequencies drop and a missed connection costs real time.
• Check the last trips of the day if you are travelling in the evening.
• General transit enquiries, complaints and compliments go through 311.