Despite a decline in ridership, Halifax Transit saw an uptick in its revenue last fiscal quarter, much of which was attributed to the fare increase from 2024, according to a new report for the municipality’s Transportation Standing Committee. The report found boardings on Halifax buses and ferries fell from 32.3 million in the 2024-2025 fiscal year to 31.5 million in 2025-2026. Buses suffered a three per cent drop in ridership (down to 29.5 million from 30.4 million) while ferries saw a three per cent uptick from 1.74 million to 1.8 million. According to the report, the declining ridership did little to soften Halifax Transit’s revenue, which went from $36.8 million in 2024-2025 to $39.2 million in 2025-2026. “This increase is attributable to a fare increase implemented in September 2024, as well as increases in the E-Pass Program, revenue from the Student Pass Program, and increases in the NS Department of Opportunities and Social Development Program,” the report reads. The cost of an adult ticket for a bus or ferry went up to $3 nearly two years ago. Halifax Transit had planned to increase it by 25 cents next month, but council voted to delay the hike when they learned the long-awaited tap-to-pay system will not be ready until December. Missed targets For the fifth year in a row, Halifax Transit failed to meet its on-time performance goal for routes. According to a previous report, on-time performance measures the reliability of routes by showing the percentage of arrivals at terminals and bus stops that are not more than three minutes later than scheduled. Halifax Transit’s performance goal is 85 per cent. According to this latest report, they hit 71 per cent for 2025-2026, which is the same percentage as last fiscal year. The report noted they plan to conduct a service reliability review to provide further analysis and potential action. “Many routes stand to see improvement in on-time performance with completion of the bus lane on Bayers Road, and the Windsor Street Exchange project,” the report reads. “However, further impacts to schedule adherence are expected in the short-term during construction.” According to a previous report, Halifax Transit’s on-time performance was 73 per cent in 2023-2024, 79 per cent in 2022-2023 and 84 per cent in 2021-2022. The outdid their goal in 2020-2021, reaching 88 per cent. The Transportation Standing Committee will discuss the report at their meeting on Aug. 27. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
