Halifax regional councillors are once again faced with a report on the tricky transit issue of community bus routes.
Council will receive a report tomorrow outlining different service models — and their costs — for community transit in Beaver Bank, Porter’s Lake, and a pilot project in Sambro.
At issue is the service standards approved by councillors as part of Metro Transit’s five-year operating plan.
That plan identified routes where service “does not meet approved service standards, or service is deemed to be redundant.”
Staff were asked to review some of the affected transit initiatives after several councillors brought forward concerns in the fall. Spryfield-Herring Cove Coun. Steve Adams, for instance, alleged rate payers from Harrietsfield to Ketch Harbour are paying $72,000 for transit services they’re not receiving.
Adams said transit service in the area had been cut by 60 per cent without similar reduction in area transit rates.
“This particular item has gone well beyond the area rate that was charged to Sambro,” he said at a Sept. 14 council meeting.
The report outlines several options for the each of the effected areas, including varying hours, number of trips, and operating and capital costs for each.
