‘It’s embarrassing’: Halifax postpones transit fare hike to December amid tap-to-pay delay

A Halifax transit bus is pictured here between stops on Spring Garden Road. (Jesse Thomas/CTV News Atlantic)

Halifax council voted to delay the increase of transit fares after receiving a report that the long-awaited tap-to-pay system will not be ready until December.

Bus and ferry fares were scheduled to go up by 25 cents on Sept. 21. An adult ticket will cost $3.25.

A new tap-to-pay system – which allows customers to use contactless cards, mobile wallets or smart devices – was set to launch at the same time as the fare hike, but a staff report said this “timeline is not achievable.”

The report said the system is now expected to be ready by late December.

“I misjudged the timelines based on the information that I had when I came to council and started agreeing and saying that we could move forward with a fare increase with the assumption that we would have enhancements,” said Robin Gerus, executive director for Halifax Transit.

“So that’s on me.”

Marc Santilli, technical services manager with Halifax Transit, also attributed the delay to the certification for debit payments.

Council voted to delay the fare raise to Dec. 21, at which point the tap-to-pay system is set to be integrated.

At their Tuesday meeting, many councillors expressed frustration with the system delay.

“It’s embarrassing, to be honest,” said Coun. Tony Mancini. “We try to encourage people to use transit but we have these obstacles. December? You got to be kidding.

“I’m very disgruntled with this whole process.”

“This isn’t just embarrassing; I think it’s financially very, very damaging as well,” said Coun. Nancy Hartling.

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