Halifax Transit fare-paying app could be here by December

Halifax's long-awaited smartphone app for transit should be on the road by early December.

That's the timeline suggested by Halifax Transit's manager of technical services Monday at the municipality's transportation standing committee.

"We hope to have everything signed in the next few weeks. And then after that, it's a matter of four to six weeks in terms of rollout," Mark Santilli said in response to questions from councillors.

In July, council approved the U.K. company Masabi to provide the transit app.

Transit riders will first be able to buy virtual tickets using their smartphones, and then show their smartphone screens to bus drivers as they board.

Nine months later, Halifax Transit will install scanners that will read the transit app automatically.

No cellular data needed to use virtual tickets

Coun. Paul Russell, who represents Lower Sackville, wanted to ensure the app is free to use, and that riders without cellular data plans can still use it.

Santilli says the app is free for riders, while Masabi will keep a portion of the fares the app collects.

And riders don't need cellular data to use their virtual bus tickets if they bought them while connected to the internet.  

"The app itself would require data connectivity to make purchases," Santilli said. "But in order to activate products, they wouldn't need internet connectivity."

While Halifax Transit will continue to offer paper tickets and physical transit passes, the app will have fare options that aren't available elsewhere, including one- and two-day passes, and discounted blocks of 20-tickets that never expire.

New business improvement district

The transportation committee also heard a presentation from the municipality's newest business improvement district.

The chair of the Porters Lake Business Association, Chris Atwood, presented a plan "to create a feeling of a village or a community" by adding a walking and biking trail between Highway 7 and the parking lots for local businesses.

The plan also calls for pedestrian crosswalks and a bench and bus shelter for the express bus service stops at a local mall.

It is now up to Coun. David Hendsbee, who represents Preston-Chezzetcook-Eastern Shore, to stickhandle the proposal onto the municipality's annual list of capital projects.

The transportation committee also requested two new staff reports.

One was to allow for the regulation of tourism vehicles which carry fewer than nine passengers and fall between definitions of taxis and buses.

The second called for a single system to apply for temporary street closures, including a checklist for applicants, set timelines, and an appeals process.