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Atlantic Transport News – March 2023

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Welcome to the March Atlantic Transport News.

Here’s a look at what you’ll find in this edition:

PEI EXTENDS AFFORDABLE TRANSIT PASS PROGRAM

Residents of PEI will enjoy another full year of discounted $20 monthly island-wide transit passes. The extension of the popular program was announced just before the start of the current provincial election campaign. PHOTO – Island Transit

Transit hasn’t been a high-profile discussion item during the current provincial election campaign on Prince Edward Island, but that’s not a cause of concern for public transportation advocates. Apparently it’s really a motherhood issue. Shortly before Premier Dennis King visited the lieutenant governor to initiate the April 3rd vote, his Progressive Conservative government announced another extension to the widely-acclaimed “toonie transit” and discounted pass program – this time for a full year until March 31, 2024. Even if the voters decide not to renew Mr. King’s mandate, it’s considered highly unlikely that any other politician would reverse the popular initiative.

The program is intended to both support the continued growth of public transit and help citizens with the cost of living. The provincial government will provide funding to ensure that transit fares remain the same: $2 adult fare for a single ride and just $20 for a monthly unlimited pass usable on both the island-wide network and the municipal system in the Charlottetown area. The monthly pass is only $10 for seniors and post-secondary students, and all children up to grade 12 ride for free.

“Public transit in Prince Edward Island reached a significant milestone of one million rides in 2022, and we want to keep pace with the growing demand for transit and at the same time, support expansion of the service where gaps have been identified by ridership,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Cory Deagle. “By creating an affordable and reliable Island-wide public transit system, we are reducing transportation barriers for Islanders and helping to create a cleaner, more sustainable province.”

The Island Transit news release reported that as of February 2023, the average number of monthly passes was 1,255, with approximately 9,000 one-way trips for children and students k-12 occurring each month. Meanwhile, ridership on Charlottetown’s T3 Transit is currently up a whopping 55% from pre-pandemic levels.

A new year-round route connecting the North Rustico area to Charlottetown will begin this spring. The Province is currently working with operator Coach Atlantic to determine schedules. This new route is additional to the summer public transit service supporting tourism operations and employees, which will resume by June 19. Last year’s summer service saw an average of 97 daily one-way trips over the months of July and August.

Additionally, the Province is working with the Capital Area Transit Coordinating Committee (CATCC) to expand transit in Charlottetown, Cornwall and Stratford with new routes, added evening services, and extended weekend hours on some of the most popular routes.

ELECTRIC BUS PASSES WITH FLYING COLOURS IN HALIFAX TRIAL

Other cities are following the lead

A group of HRM councillors and Halifax Transit staff prepare to board an all-electric bus for a recent demonstration run. No issues were encountered with either hilly terrain or winter operating conditions during the testing, and the first 20 vehicles are expected to be in service by mid-2024. SUBMITTED PHOTO

A new era in public transit for the Halifax Regional Municipality is less than a year away, with the first deliveries from an order of 60 all-electric buses expected before the end of this year. All of the vehicles should be ready for service by spring 2024, and officials are pleased at the outcome of an extensive testing program just completed under real-world conditions. A Nova LFSe+ demonstrator bus was put through its paces under winter conditions in February.

“Testing was designed to cover a representative spectrum of typical driving conditions in revenue service, including varied terrain, traffic, weather, and gross vehicle weight,” says Halifax Transit’s executive director Dave Reage. “Results of that testing indicated no significant concerns with respect to performance or range, even in low temperatures or snow conditions.”

He says the new battery powered buses will be added to the current fleet based out of the Ragged Lake Transit Centre facility. An RFP for construction of four new lanes and installation of charging equipment for the Ragged Lake Transit Centre facility has been released, and construction is expected to begin very soon. Upon completion of the new extension, electric buses are expected to be in revenue service by spring 2024.

Councillor Waye Mason wasn’t shy about his enthusiasm for the new vehicles. “What a game changer,” he tweeted after taking a demonstration ride. “For folks inside the bus, no shake, rattle and roll, just a gentle whine as it climbed Duke Street from a dead stop. Plenty of power. Outside the bus, no gut-grabbing bassy rumble as the bus goes by, and no dark cloud of diesel particulates. And, of course, far less GHGs…This is a good future for us!”

Other cities in the region are looking towards a greener transit future as well, but aren’t nearly as far down the road as Halifax. In St. John’s, funding was announced on March 1 for a $200,000 feasibility study to look at electrifying the city’s Metrobus fleet. The City and the federal government are sharing the cost of the research, which will include a risk assessment, cost and saving analysis and identifying infrastructure requirements.

Metrobus Transit in St. John’s is taking the first steps toward electrification with a $200,000 feasibility study announced on March 2. Shown here at the bus depot are (l to r) Metrobus general Manager Judy Powell, Sue Connor of the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium, St. John’s East MP Joanne Thompson, and Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O’leary. PHOTO – Saltwire Network

St. John’s East MP Joanne Thompson was on hand for the announcement, describing the study as a “critical first step” and a “significant milestone to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O’leary told the Telegram that while there is no set timeline for when residents can expect to see electric buses in St. John’s, the project is a priority for the city.

“Lots of times in our province, we are often a little bit late to the game, but I think our population has been a bit of a challenge in many respects,” she said. “We know the importance of this energy efficiency, how important it is. Forty-nine per cent of our carbon emissions are coming from transportation. It has to happen and the time is now.”

The study, which is slated to be completed by June, is funded through the federal Zero Emission Transit Fund and is being completed by the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), a non-profit organization designated by the federal government as the designated national planning service for the fund.

Meanwhile in Moncton, City Council has just approved the purchase of four new diesel buses for the Codiac Transpo fleet, at a total estimated cost of $2.6 million. Approximately 40 percent of the expenditure will be federal infrastructure funding.

Planning for conversion to electric vehicles is underway at the transit agency, but the urgent need to replace four obsolete gasoline-powered buses that were well past their best-before date meant that the investment in diesel technology was unavoidable. A presentation to Council pointed out that the new low-floor vehicles will be 31 percent more fuel-efficient than the ones they are replacing, are compliant with the latest emission standards, offer much lower maintenance costs.

Codiac Transpo told the Times & Transcript that the planning and research currently underway is intended to assist the agency in making the best choices on such issues as battery size, charging technology, and the timing of the transition to an electric fleet.

NOVA SCOTIA FACES COSTLY DECISIONS ON MAJOR BRIDGE

The Seal Island Bridge in Cape Breton is a critical link in the Trans-Canada Highway, but the 60-year-old structure is showing its age and some expensive decisions will have to be made in the near future. PHOTO – Wikipedia

Anyone who’s ever driven the Trans-Canada Highway through Cape Breton can’t help but be impressed with the majestic Seal Island Bridge. The massive 716-metre long steel and concrete structure spans the Great Bras d’Or Channel between Kelly’s Mountain and Boularderie Island. It’s a critical piece of transportation infrastructure, not only for the Sydney area but also for the ferry service to Newfoundland. And now, the bridge is showing its age, and the time is fast approaching where some difficult – and potentially expensive – decisions will need to be made.

CBC News has reported that the Province of Nova Scotia is now looking at options to extend its life and plan for its future replacement. When completed in 1961, construction cost was nearly $4.7 million, not including major approach roads. A replacement would doubtless be many times that, but the Public Works Department hasn’t yet begun to crunch those numbers. Two decades ago, a three-year project just to fully replace the deteriorated deck came in at over $15 million. So whatever solution is ultimately decided, it won’t come cheap.

A casual observer will notice evidence of some cracked concrete and corroded metal, but Will Crocker, structures asset management engineer with Nova Scotia Public Works, says such symptoms are common on a bridge of that age. He told the CBC he’s quite confident that it is still perfectly safe. “I wouldn’t hesitate to travel across the bridge,” he said.

He acknowledged, hoswever, that recent reports and inspections show the superstructure and concrete piers are deteriorating. A full inspection of the bridge by engineering consultants in 2018-19 rated the various components in accordance with national standards, and identified areas needing attention.

“As long as those requirements or defects are identified in a timely manner, which they have been, and are repaired in a timely manner, which is what we’re planning to do for this upcoming season, then there will be no problems,” Mr. Crocker said.

For the longer term, Public Works is currently awaiting a cost-benefit analysis from engineering firm COWI, the company that designed and planned replacement of the decking on the Angus L. MacDonald Bridge in Halifax, otherwise known as “The Big Lift.” The firm did its own inspection and added electronic monitors on the bridge’s structure. COWI’s report is expected to offer recommendations on extending the life of the bridge and eventually replacing it.  “At some point in the future, the bridge will have to be replaced, says Don Maillet, executive director of highway design and construction with Public Works. “How that’s going to be done and how much remedial work will be required is all part of the cost-benefit analysis.”

MAJOR HIGHWAY EXPENDITURES IN 2023 FOR NS, NL

Progress continues on the twinning of Nova Scotia Route 104 in Antigonish County, with completion expected in late 2023. The Province is spending about $450 million on road work in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. PHOTO – Dexter Nova Alliance

Four twinning projects on three of Nova Scotia’s major highways will be the main contributors to an expenditure of about $450 million on road work in fiscal 2023-2024. Meanwhile, the Province has already committed an additional $583 million for six new major highway projects, to be constructed between 2025 and 2030.

“This is one of the largest highway infrastructure investments to date,” said Public Works Minister Kim Masland. “This investment will not only make our highways and bridges safer, it will also enable the road-building industry time to plan and prepare for these major investments.”

Among Nova Scotia’s larger projects are:

  • Highway 103, Argyle Interchange (Exit 32 and 32A)
  • Highway 103, twinning between Exit 6 (Hubbards) and Exit 7 (East River)
  • Highway 103, twinning between Exit 7 (East River) and Exit 8 (Chester)
  • Highway 104, twinning between Taylors Road and Paqtnkek (Antigonish County)
  • Highway 107, twinning from Burnside to west of Loon Lake (Halifax Regional Municipality)
  • Tancook ferry infrastructure development (Lunenburg County)

Meanwhile, Newfoundland and Labrador has also announced what Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Elvis Loveless terms an “unprecedented” expenditure on highway construction this year, totalling $225 million. The emphasis will be on upgrading infrastructure vulnerable to the effects of climate change, the minister told CBC News, adding he was anticipating further announcements pending additional funding from the federal government.

“We believe it’s going to be a good year for the paving industry, contractors, workers,” he told reporters during an announcement in St. John’s.

In the past, politicians have come under fire for favouring districts represented by the governing party, but Minister Loveless insists politics has been removed from the process of deciding where tax dollars are spent.

“We’ve put together a solid, balanced plan for road construction projects throughout the province,” he said. “We’re not looking at it from a lens of districts, but through a lens of the advice from the engineers.” 

Funding strategies are also influenced by factors such as traffic volumes, the need to support the tourism industry, commercial transportation and industrial sectors, and input from drivers. The plan also includes roads with lower traffic volumes, but with significant deterioration. Most contracts should be tendered by the end of May. Ministers Masland and Loveless both indicated that plans were being announced early to give the construction industry time to prepare, helping to ensure timely completion of projects.

PORTER AIRLINES CONTINUES TO SPREAD ITS WINGS IN REGION

WestJet reveals yet more route reductions

One of Porter Airlines’ new Embraer E195-E2 jet aircraft on the tarmac at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. Jet service from YHZ to Toronto Pearson began in February, supplementing the turboprop service the airline will continue offering to downtown Bill Bishop Airport. Porter is ramping up service to other Atlantic Canada locations, even as WestJet continues to reduce its presence here. PHOTO – Courtesy of Halifax Airport Authority

Porter Airlines is continuing to strengthen its footprint in Atlantic Canada, even as WestJet reveals further cutbacks in its service to the region. The latest development as reported by New Brunswick news media is the elimination of WestJet’s Moncton to Toronto service, effective May 1. The route had been reduced to a skeletal tri-weekly operation for the winter months, but until recently the airline was accepting bookings for two flights daily between YQM and YYZ beginning later this spring. That option disappeared from their website in early March, but a WestJet spokesperson said in line with their new western-focused strategic direction they would instead be offering three non-stop flights a week from Moncton to Calgary and two to Edmonton.

Also disappearing indefinitely from the WestJet route map is service between Halifax and St. John’s, which had been suspended for the winter months. Likewise, until recently bookings were being accepted for the resumption of two flights daily between YYT and YHZ beginning in early April. But St. John’s was recently delisted as a destination out of Halifax on their website, and a WestJet spokesperson confirmed to TAA that the YYT-YHZ route will not be returning to their network as part of future schedules. There will continue to be a direct daily flight between St. John’s and Toronto, with connections to other destinations, as well as non-stop seasonal flights to Edmonton and Calgary on varying schedules.

For its part, Porter Airlines is clearly in growth mode, and appears intent on claiming the traffic that WestJet has abandoned. Public affairs director Brad Cicero tells TAA they will operate four daily flights between Halifax and Toronto this summer – two to Pearson using their new Embraer E195-E2 jets, and two to the downtown Billy Bishop Airport with their familiar Q-400 turboprops. There will also be three Q-400 flights daily to both Ottawa and St. John’s, and two to Montreal. Moncton and Fredericton will each have one daily direct flight to both Ottawa and Billy Bishop. And, as announced last month, Porter will inaugurate service to Charlottetown this year, with two daily non-stop Q-400 flights to Ottawa, from where connections may be made to other destinations.

Mr. Cicero confirmed that direct St. John’s to Pearson has been identified as a potential future route as the airline takes delivery of more of the new jets. They expect to have 30 of the Embraer planes in their fleet by year-end, with firm orders placed for 20 more and options for an additional 50. He said, however, there are no plans at this time to introduce jet service between Halifax and St. John’s. The Porter spokesperson, who’s been with the airline since its earliest days, told TAA that they have a very high level of confidence in their growth-oriented business plan. He added that they have been much less impacted by pandemic-related staffing issues than other carriers, even though they were shut down entirely for more than a year. This may in part be related to the age profile of their workforce, with fewer furloughed employees choosing to retire permanently, and a higher proportion returning to active duty when service resumed. Porter currently has about a thousand more employees than it did in 2019.

ST. JOHN’S PURSUING NEW OVERSEAS FLIGHT OPTIONS

Provincial government involved in talks with Aer Lingus

A quick glance at this handout photo might lead one to think this Aer Lingus 737 is flying over Bell Island on approach to runway 11 at YYT. In reality, the locale is most likely Ireland’s famous Cliffs of Moher. But if talks between the provincial government and the Irish flag carrier come to fruition, St. John’s International Airport may once again get a direct overseas connection. PHOTO – Aer Lingus

It’s been four years since St. John’s International Airport hosted direct scheduled passenger flights across the North Atlantic – and the local business community, the airport authority and the provincial government have all but given up on Canadian carriers. WestJet has clearly withdrawn entirely from any overseas flying out of Atlantic Canada, and Air Canada has said it has no plans to resume the direct flight from YYT to London Heathrow that was abandoned during the Boeing 737 MAX safety groundings in 2019. Now the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador government has stepped into the picture, and is actively pursuing the potential of reconnecting air links with Europe.

One of the first pitches was to Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus. Premier Andrew Furey and Tourism Minister Steve Crocker met with the airline’s director of network planning in last fall to discuss prospects for a Dublin-to-St. John’s route. Eastbound flying time between the two airports is less than five hours.

“Obviously the re-establishment of a European route is extremely important to us, re-establishment of a direct U.S. route is important to us, as is regional connectivity,” Minister Crocker told CBC News.

He said government has an important role to play, but acknowledged that it’s a tough time as the industry emerges from a COVID-19-related slump. “The thing we hear consistently from airlines when we talk to them is they’re trying themselves – as we are as a province – to get back to pre-pandemic numbers. Their first priority is to get back to their routes that they had pre-pandemic.”

ICONIC COW BANISHED FROM CHARLOTTETOWN AIRPORT

Wowie the cow boards a truck on her way to a new home – as yet unidentified. The iconic statue welcomed travellers at Charlottetown Airport for years and was the focus of countless photo-ops, but she was occupying space needed for expansion of terminal facilities. Wowie’s owner, the Cows Ice Cream Company, has promised she’ll reappear somewhere on the Island, sometime soon. PHOTO – Mary Beth Malone

A long-familiar sight in the arrivals area at Charlottetown has been banished from the premises. The iconic cow statue – trademark of the equally-iconic Cows ice cream company – had been the subject of many a photo-op over the past 10 years. But, alas, no more!

Wowie, as she is affectionately known, was unceremoniously loaded on a truck earlier this month, en route to a new and as yet undisclosed home.

Charlottetown Airport Authority CEO Doug Newson told CBC News the cow had to go to make room for renovations.

“This project, which will provide a refreshing new look to the arrivals area, combined with our capacity constraints in the peak the summer months, unfortunately meant that it was time for the cow to be relocated from YYG,” he said.

Cows marketing director Mary Beth Malone said Wowie’s departure has caused an outpouring of affection on social media.

“People from all around the world were sharing their memories of how Wowie at the airport was when they realized that they were on Prince Edward Island, and all the great memories that they had seeing her there,” she said.

Wowie has been taken back to the Cows Creamery store, while company officials figure out a new permanent home for her, Malone told the CBC.

“It’s almost like the end of an era … and it’s nice to hear that she has had such a positive impact.”

MARITIME BUS RETURNS TO VIA STATION IN HALIFAX

The Maritime Bus ticket counter inside the VIA Rail station in Halifax can be seen open for business at the beginning of March 2023. PHOTO – Tim Hayman

The Maritime Bus ticket office has returned to the inside of the VIA Rail station in downtown Halifax. Several years ago, the office inside the station was closed and passengers buying or picking up tickets had to use the counter in the parcel room, tucked away in a rather unappealing part of the terminal. Bus passengers could still access the waiting room in the station, but then had no convenient way to access ticket agents from the waiting area.

Early in 2023, the former ticket office inside the station next to the VIA Rail counter was reopened, providing a welcome sight. Though the intermodal arrangements between the two transportation providers have faltered in recent years, having another location with both ground transport options readily available is a benefit to those travelling on either mode. A ticket agent on duty at the beginning of March reported that it was nice to be back in the much more pleasant environment, and no doubt passengers will feel similarly!

Atlantic Transport News – January 2023

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Welcome to the first edition of Atlantic Transport News for 2023!

Here’s a look at what you’ll find in this edition:

HUNDREDS OF HOLIDAY TRAVELLERS STRANDED ON VIA’s OCEAN

VIA’s eastbound Ocean sits parked in Montreal’s Central station on Dec. 23, as a snow storm rages outside. VIA Rail’s abysmal performance over the Christmas travel period has become the subject of a probe by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. PHOTO – Tim Hayman

The 2022 holiday travel season descended into chaos just before Christmas, as a massive winter storm on December 23 shut down already overcrowded airports, closed highways, and brought much of VIA Rail’s network to a grinding halt. Though much media attention was focused on the Corridor, where several trains were stuck for many hours and all trains were cancelled for several days over Christmas, passengers travelling to and from the Maritimes for the holidays on board VIA’s Ocean found themselves stranded after many hours of uncertainty and little forward progress. After an initial delay due to a late arriving connection, passengers on board VIA #14 (scheduled to depart Montreal at 19h00 on December 23) were surprised to find their train returning to the station shortly after departure. Passengers were informed that a section of the line ahead, near Mont-Joli QC, was impassible due to the impacts of the storm.

After discussions between VIA operations and Canadian National (CN), a decision was made to delay departure until 06h00 the following morning, with assurances from CN that this would provide sufficient time for the line to be cleared and re-opened for the train to pass. The train coming from Halifax was held at Campbellton for the night, expecting to be ready to depart by later the next morning as well.

The next morning, VIA 14 departed and proceeded as far as Rivière-du-Loup, now running more than 13 hours behind schedule. After a further wait, passengers were informed that contrary to their initial assurances, CN would not now have the line cleared in time. Repair crews had reportedly ended their shift and wouldn’t return until sometime on the following day. With no other option, short of an overnight layover in Rivière-du-Loup, train #14 was then sent back to Montreal, arriving in the early hours of the morning on Christmas Day, exactly where it had started some 30 hours after its initial departure.

Passengers on the westbound train #15 from Halifax fared little better. Their train was left stranded for just as many hours at Campbellton, before being sent back to Halifax.

With little confidence in CN being able to open the line within their next promised window, Transport Action Atlantic President Tim Hayman, who was a passenger on train #14, was fortunate enough to find a flight home late on Christmas Day, but many passengers simply saw their plans to visit family for the holidays forfeited entirely, and were in some cases also stuck in Montreal over Christmas due to the train cancellations in the Corridor. Passengers were refunded in full for the affected trip, and also provided with travel credits; and those arriving back in Montreal in the wee hours of Christmas morning were put up in a hotel for the remainder of the night.

Weather delays and issues are entirely understandable, particularly in severe winter storms, but the entire ordeal raises serious questions about the resiliency of VIA’s operations, and highlights the ever-present issue of VIA being reliant on the “infrastructure owner” or “host railway” – i.e. CN – to move its trains in a safe and timely manner.

There are several key questions raised by this situation:

  • What was the exact nature of the issue making the line impassible, and why were CN crews unable to clear the line as expected?
  • What efforts did CN make to prioritize opening the line and avoiding stranding these trains and their passengers?
  • What contingency planning does CN have in place for these scenarios, and how did their efforts here compare to the efforts that would be made to clear a high priority freight line?
  • Was there any consideration of alternative routings for the trains (i.e. over the Napadogan Subdivision through New Brunswick)?
  • Does VIA have recourse within their track access agreements with CN to seek compensation for a failure to move its trains in a timely fashion, or to their destinations at all?
  • What considerations did VIA management give to alternative transportation for passengers?

Transport Action believes the abysmal performance of Canada’s tattered passenger rail system this holiday season should be grounds for a full independent enquiry, to determine where government, VIA Rail management, and the host railways (CN) have failed, and to recommend immediate action to address this national embarrassment.

TAA has been invited to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities on January 26, and will take the opportunity to press the committee to look further into these issues, and identify ways to ensure that passengers aren’t left stranded in similar circumstances in future storms.

-Tim Hayman

WESTJET DITCHES HALIFAX TRANSATLANTIC HUB

WestJet launched its new overseas service from Halifax Stanfield to Glasgow amid great fanfare in the spring of 2015 – including decorating the aircraft tail with a custom-designed corporate tartan. That flight, along with all the airline’s other transatlantic offerings from eastern Canada, is now history. SUBMITTED PHOTO

The management at Halifax Stanfield International Airport had held out some slim hope until the last, but in the end it was not to be. WestJet’s new corporate strategy of returning to its roots in the western provinces has brought down the curtain on the transatlantic hub at YHZ. The final confirmation came not by way of any formal announcement from the Calgary-based carrier, but in a story published by an international online trade journal. Simple Flying reported on December 20 that the new western focus would eliminate not only all WestJet overseas flights from Halifax, but from Toronto as well.

https://simpleflying.com/westjet-cuts-non-calgary-europe-routes/

The airline made its first step into the transatlantic market in 2013, when it introduced a non-stop flight from St. John’s to Dublin, using an extended-range Boeing 737. The initiative was widely hailed as the most successful new route in the airline’s history – but the honeymoon was soon over. Just five years later the Dublin flight was relocated to Halifax, with the airline announcing that it made better operational sense to adopt Stanfield as its hub for all its European destinations, which also included Glasgow, London Gatwick, and Paris. That strategy evidently wasn’t a success either. Some industry analysts have suggested that Air Canada is so firmly entrenched in eastern Canada that no other carrier can effectively compete. In any event, WestJet’s newly-minted CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech lost no time in beating a westward retreat shortly after his appointment.

“We think the West has more room for growth for us that the East,” he told the Globe and Mail following a quick strategic review. Management at Stanfield International kept trying to persuade the carrier to retain at least some of its overseas services, but to no avail. Airport spokesperson Tiffany Chase confirmed following publication of the Simple Flying story that the only regularly scheduled transatlantic service from YHZ next summer will be a daily Air Canada flight to London Heathrow. Air Canada plans to continue operating that route year-round with a reduced off-season frequency. There will also be seasonal summer flights to and from Frankfurt several times weekly in 2023 by leisure carriers Condor and Eurowings Discover.

“Our Air Service Development team continues to connect with other carriers to promote the Halifax Stanfield advantage and business case,” Ms. Chase said, “but it’s unlikely we’ll have another new non-stop European service announced and operating for summer 2023.”

IN OTHER AIRLINE NEWS…

Mayor Mike Savage (l.) was on hand with airport officials and other dignitaries to celebrate the return of direct flights from Halifax Stanfield to Liberty International Airport in Newark on December 16. SUBMITTED PHOTO

The news isn’t all bad for Halifax Stanfield. Air Canada has resumed direct flights from YHZ to New York (Newark), which had been missing from the departures board since the pandemic began. The service began with four departures a week effective December 16, and ramped up to daily as of January 8. The U.S. preclearance facility at YHZ provides an advantage for departing passengers who can pre-clear customs in Halifax. They then arrive in Newark as domestic travellers, where they can conveniently connect to other American destinations with minimum delay.

And one more domestic travel option will be available from Halifax in February, when Porter Airlines introduces a new direct service to and from Toronto Pearson, using its new 132-seat Embraer E195-E2 aircraft. This rapidly growing airline officially took delivery of the first two of a planned 50 medium-range jets from the Brazilian manufacturer on December 21. Porter is the first North American carrier to introduce this model, and has chosen to configure the cabin with 132 seats – 14 fewer than the maximum the plane is designed for. In addition to more personal space, the airline says the E195-E2 will offer every passenger an elevated economy experience that includes no middle seats, complimentary beer and wine served in real glassware, a selection of premium snacks, and free, fast wifi.

In sharp contrast to WestJet, Porter appears intent on expanding service in Atlantic Canada. While WestJet has suspended flights between Halifax and St. John’s for nearly four months between January and late April, Porter will continue to ply the route offering at least one departure on most days during the slow season of the year. By May, there will be three round trips daily Sunday through Friday between YHZ and YYT. And Porter is also continuing to provide winter service between Moncton and Ottawa/Toronto. We’ll provide further details on Porter’s plans in a future issue of this newsletter.

Meanwhile, PAL Airlines is continuing its service between Newfoundland and New Brunswick through the winter. Although Fredericton has been dropped from the route map until spring, PAL still is flying St. John’s-Deer Lake-Moncton and return five days a week on the schedule that began in January.

-Ted Bartlett

T3 TRANSIT BREAKS THE ONE MILLION MARK

Charlottetown’s T3 Transit carried its one millionth rider for 2022 on New Year’s Eve, crowning a record-breaking year. PHOTO Saltwire Network

Just before 2022 passed into history, Charlottetown’s T3 Transit proudly reached a milestone – breaking yet another record after months of successive, phenomenal growth. On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, the system boarded its one millionth passenger for the year – a truly impressive total for a small urban community.

“We woke up Saturday morning needing 1,100 more rides,” said Mike Cassidy, whose company operates the system on behalf of the City. By mid-afternoon, we hit the one million mark, coming right down to the wire as 2022 was coming to an end,” he told the Guardian.

“This is a significant milestone for T3 Transit and public transit in our province,” Premier Dennis King told the newspaper. He attributed the growth in transit ridership to such government initiatives as discounted fares for adults and free transit for children and students.

T3 Transit commenced operation in September 2005 with just four vehicles, but now employs a team of 43 people and operates 35 vehicles. As part of its ongoing expansion, the system plans to introduce new electric buses in the coming year. The vehicles are expected to be tendered in March.

Meanwhile, an extra round trip per day has been added on rural public transit routes between Tignish and Summerside and between Charlottetown and Summerside, effective December 29.
“Going from two round trips per day to three will improve options for Prince County residents using public transit to get to and from work, school and essential services,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Cory Deagle. “We are aligning our schedule and routes based on demand and rider feedback. We will continue to make changes to our service over time to ensure that using our rural public transit service is easy and convenient for Islanders.”

Since launching in October 2021, Transit PEI has provided 57,733 one-way trips across Prince Edward Island. For November 2022, Transit PEI averaged 340 passenger fares per day. The fare for a one-way trip is $2. Monthly transit passes for all transit routes on Prince Edward Island are available for $20 for adults and $10 for seniors and post-secondary students. This offer was recently extended to the end of the current fiscal year which ends on March 31, but many observers are anticipating that it will be renewed.

TRANSIT IN NEWFOUNDLAND’S CAPITAL IS LOOKING UP, BUT SOME SOUR NOTES IN THE FANFARE

Metrobus carried an all-time record number of people in October 2022. However, critics say the St. John’s transit system abandoned its growing customer base by shutting down for nearly 60 hours over Christmas, and ending service early on New Year’s Eve. PHOTO Jeremy Eaton/CBC

The city of St John’s has been taking important steps in recent years to address decades of decline in the bus service it provides. Ridership figures in October 2022 were the highest since records began – 16.9% up from 2019 before COVID hit, and in response the city’s latest budget included a nearly 10% increase in the city’s subsidy – some of which will go towards adding three buses to the most used routes during the summer months to offset some of the cuts normally made to service over that period.

Some of the rise in numbers could be attributable to the extension of a provincially co-funded pilot program that gave free bus passes to people on income support and was broadened this year to include low income seniors and youths receiving services from the Youth Services Program. But there were some stumbles along the way.

In 2020, free transit for young children was extended to the under-12s but in reaction to bus driver complaints about fare dodging and abuse, the service announced in August that children would need to come to Metrobus’s offices in person with photo ID to be issued passes that would cover them until they turned 12. Ironically those offices are located a 45 minute bus ride from downtown. When I checked in mid-October, fewer than 100 such passes had been issued but Metrobus’ manager said at the time the program “has gone smoothly” and that no targets for numbers to distribute had been set.

Also in the Grinch column, once again Metrobus Transit stopped service at 18:00 Christmas eve and over Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. It also stopped service New Years Eve at 18:00 and on New Year’s Day. Halifax does better, as do most large cities in Canada, although this is also a problem in PEI which made a well-publicized push to improve transit in 2022 and in Moncton and Saint John, New Brunswick. Considering the weather, taxi shortages, the need for those without easy car access to reach friends and family and the dangers of seasonal drunk driving, we hope St John’s and other Atlantic cities will reconsider this next year.

-David Brake

IN OTHER TRANSIT NEWS…

Halifax Transit is showing a steady recovery, but its ridership isn’t yet up to pre-pandemic levels. The system recorded a total of 23,267,150 boardings in calendar 2022, compared with 17,011,739 a year earlier. The corresponding figure for 2019 was 30,732,930 boardings.

Moncton’s Codiac Transpo didn’t have complete final numbers available, but operations manager Alex Grncarovski said 2022 was a very good year with boardings exceeding 1.7 million. “It’s a positive trend that we hope to continue in 2023.”

MARITIME BUS SEES STRONG RECOVERY WHILE CELEBRATING 10th ANNIVERSARY

The 1:00 pm departure leaves the Charlottetown terminal as Maritime Bus marked its 10th anniversary on December 1. The company reports that ridership is recovering close to pre-pandemic levels. SUBMITTED PHOTO

December 1 was a red-letter day for Maritime Bus. It marked the tenth anniversary of the pivotal moment when the fledgling Charlottetown-based carrier stepped in to fill the void created by the foreign-owned Acadian Lines/Orleans Express. It hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park for founder Mike Cassidy, but he proudly looks back at a decade of reliable service.

COVID-19 was a massive challenge – one that cost his company millions. But Maritime Bus kept going through the darkest days, albeit on a reduced schedule, carrying small numbers of people and lots of packages throughout the three provinces. Although the schedule still isn’t quite back to pre-pandemic levels, traffic is now showing strong recovery, and service has been running seven days a week since September.

Ridership has now returned to 85% of what it was before COVID struck, Mr. Cassidy reported in early January. In December 2022 the buses handled some 14,000 passengers, as compared to 17,000 in the same month of 2019. And in the first ten days of January they did ever better: 5000 fares – just 300 short of the ridership for the same period pre-pandemic.

“Very pleased!” he said. But there’s still a way to go. There’s still no interlining with motorcoach services to the rest of Canada. Maritime Bus stops at Edmundston, so it’s not yet possible to ride or ship a package into Quebec or beyond as in pre-COVID times, with no indication as to when that might change.

PATIENCE WEARING THIN ON CHIGNECTO ISTHMUS MITIGATION

These CN tracks and the Trans Canada Highway over the Chignecto Isthmus between Amherst NS and Sackville NB form a vital but tenuous link that is under increasing threat by rising sea levels resulting from climate change. PHOTO – Robert Short/CBC

Potential disastrous consequences for a vital transportation corridor connecting Nova Scotia with the rest of Canada have been recognized for years. The massive tides of the Bay of Fundy are being increasingly influenced by climate change, with ever higher water levels being recorded during major weather events. A study released last year, jointly funded by the federal, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick governments, confirmed the risk that both the CN rail line and the Trans Canada Highway across the low-lying Chignecto Isthmus are in danger of being eventually overwhelmed by rising waters. That would sever a critically important link that carries millions of dollars worth of commerce each and every day.

The report identified three possible strategies to address the issue, with the most elaborate one having an estimated price tag in excess of $300 million. The recommended timeline for completing the project as ten years, something that appeared reasonable at the time. In fact, back then Amherst Mayor David Kogon told CBC News he viewed the plan as reasonable and realistic.

But the mayor has apparently changed his tune, and so have many others. September’s devastation caused by hurricane Fiona caused them to think again.

“Hurricane Fiona scared the bejeebers out of the people in our area,” Mayor Kogon said in an early January interview. Fiona mostly brought high winds and downed trees to the Chignecto Isthmus, but had it struck at a slightly different angle at high tide, he added, Amherst and vital trade routes in the area certainly could have been seriously affected.

“That storm surge is a potential problem here, depending on the state of the tide. Quite honestly, we were lucky and I don’t want to rely on good luck to protect us going forward,” he told the CBC. “We dodged a bullet.”

There’s been no indication, however, that either level of government is revisiting the timeline. There is no agreement yet in place as to how the cost of the project would be shared. Both provinces, not surprisingly, are adamant that Ottawa needs to take a leading role.

Atlantic Transport News – November/December 2022

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Welcome to the November/December edition of Atlantic Transport News! With the holidays quickly approaching, this may well turn out to be our last newsletter for the year. All of us at TAA wish you a happy and healthy holiday season!

Here’s a look at what you’ll find in this edition:

VIA 3RD QUARTER REPORT SHOWS RIDERSHIP RECOVERY, BUT HIGHLIGHTS DIRE EQUIPMENT SITUATION

VIA train 14 pauses at Campbellton NB in mid-October. The HEP equipment that forms part of the Ocean’s consist is rapidly nearing the end of its serviceable life, and a replacement is badly needed. The Renaissance equipment at the other end of the train isn’t in much better shape either! PHOTO – Tim Hayman

VIA Rail Canada recently released its 3rd quarter report for 2022. The overall ridership picture is positive. For the Ocean, ridership this quarter was up to 23,000, a whopping 505.3% increase over 2021, thanks, no doubt, to the increase from 1/week and then 2/week service back up to the full 3/week service in 2022. Revenues also increased by 514.3% over 2021. VIA’s figures put the increase in capacity in terms of seat miles at 429% for the quarter.

Comparing figures to pre-pandemic ridership, the Ocean carried 29,500 passengers in Q3 2019, and 29,000 in Q3 2018. By this comparison, Q3 2022’s figure of 23,000 is lower than pre-pandemic totals. It’s difficult to determine exactly what is behind this relative figure; a slow return to pre-pandemic travel patterns may be one factor, but limited capacity may be another. The new bidirectional Ocean consists offer less passenger capacity than the previous configurations, in part due to equipment constraints, but also due to staffing shortages that prevented running longer trains. Many trains through the summer months were sold out, and it’s hard to say how many more passengers VIA could have carried had they been able to run longer trains and offer more space for sale.

The Q3 report is otherwise light on details, but the Risk Analysis section is notable. “Asset Management” is highlighted as an increasing risk, and the report states “The Corporation’s HEP rolling stock equipment has essentially reached the end of its operating life. Its reliability has deteriorated in the past few years, resulting in delays and additional operating costs to maintain a state of good repair. Maintenance costs are projected to increase significantly in upcoming years until a replacement fleet of equipment is introduced, both in the Corridor where the Corporation counts on 31 HEP2 coaches representing more than 25 per cent of current Corridor capacity and non-Corridor services, as reliability of the aging fleet will continue to deteriorate, as well as all of the non-Corridor services who depend on HEP equipment to provide services to communities.” This follows on comments made in recent VIA annual reports and corporate plans, and comes on the heels of recent developments that have shone an even greater spotlight on the dire situation facing the bulk of VIA Rail’s equipment fleet.

Thanks to an Access to Information request, railway blogger Eric Gagnon was able to acquire and publish a copy of the summary report provided by Hatch Engineering, which prompted the most recent inspections and tests of HEP equipment, as well as the “buffer car” policy. Eric posted the report in full on his Trackside Treasure blog.

Here are a couple of notable excerpts:

“As fleetwide inspections continued during the Heritage Program, the findings suggested that all HEP cars likely have some degree of structural degradation of the strength of the car body.“

“The conditions identified on the HEP fleet do not affect the structural performance of the HEP cars under normal operating loads, meaning that they will not fail in regular service….Unfortunately, in most cases, the remaining car body strength of the HEP fleet cars is likely less than original design standards.“

“Considering the age of the current fleet and the planned operation until 2035, Hatch has provided VIA Rail with key recommendations around fleet replacement, a structural reinforcement program for the current fleet, temporary operational mitigations and updates to VIA’s risk assessment to support decisions around proposed mitigation measures.“

Perhaps most notable is this first of the key recommendations:

“Initiate a replacement program for the HEP fleet. By 2035, most of VIA’s HEP fleet will be greater than 80 years old. Considering the age of the fleet, continued deterioration due to corrosion is expected despite any further mitigations taken in the interim. The only long-term solution is the replacement of the fleet.”

In the interim, Hatch also provided recommendations for inspection and repair work to ensure that the HEP fleet remains in safe operating condition. “Buffer cars” will remain in place while this work is being done, and can hopefully be removed once suitable repairs are complete. In any case, it is becoming increasingly clear that VIA is in urgent need of a replacement for its long distance fleet. The HEP fleet can simply no longer be rebuilt indefinitely, and the Renaissance fleet that makes up the balance of the Ocean’s equipment pool is also past its initial planned withdrawal date. Train services from coast to coast are in severe jeopardy if no replacement is sought in as timely a fashion as possible. VIA has reportedly already submitted a business case for the fleet replacement to Transport Canada. It’s well past time for the federal government to take note, and provide VIA with the go ahead to launch this desperately needed procurement.

Meanwhile, day to day on time performance of the Ocean has finally improved from the routine delays during the late summer and fall, as track work programs in Quebec are complete. With train 15 routinely back on schedule, VIA has restored the earlier connection to Ottawa on train 35. For Toronto or southwestern Ontario bound passengers, VIA is still only guaranteeing a connection with the later train 67, which requires a 3 hour layover in Montreal. The connection to the earlier train 65, which would require only a 57 minute connection and arrive in Toronto over 2 hours earlier, is shown as returning as of January 12, 2023. It’s not clear why the return of this connection has been delayed.

The Christmas holidays promise to be a busy travel time in the Maritimes, as usual. There are no extra trains for the holidays this year, and no schedule adjustments either, as even the trains scheduled for Dec. 25th will still run on their usual day and schedules. However, after having only 2 trains a week running by this time last year, the return of the full 3/week service still marks an increase over the past season. There is evidence that VIA has added additional passenger capacity to these trains, based on increased inventory in the reservations system, but even with added equipment several trains are fully sold out for end-to-end travel several weeks in advance. This was no doubt aided by a recent “Black Friday” sale, which included holiday-time travel (with no blackout dates) for the first time in several years. Bus shuttle service continues to be provided to connect passengers in the Gaspe via Campbellton. In any case, it is encouraging to see that passengers are coming back to the train, even after the hiatus of service – hopefully, VIA will take note!

-Tim Hayman

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! MARITIME BUS MARKS 10 YEARS IN OPERATION

December 1, 2022 marks 10 years since Maritime Bus picked up the remnants of Acadian Lines, and embarked on the path to building today’s intercity bus network in the Maritimes. PHOTO – Courtesy of Maritime Bus

In the summer of 2012, travellers in the Maritimes were shocked by the news that Acadian Lines, the sole intercity bus service in the region, would be shutting down operations entirely after November 30th. Coupled with news that VIA’s Ocean service would be cut in half (from 6 to 3 days a week operation) at nearly the same time, this marked a staggering blow to the intercity public transportation network in the region. Mike Cassidy, owner of Coach Atlantic, was similarly shocked by the news – but also saw an opportunity to step in to fill the void. Thus, Maritime Bus was born, and officially started operations on December 1, 2012.

This December 1st marked 10 years of operation for Maritime Bus. The road hasn’t always been smooth, especially through the recent years of the pandemic, but the carrier has continued to provide bus service through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI, and has worked to continue expanding their network as opportunities arise. Key to that success has been Cassidy’s commitment to providing scheduled bus service through the region. Speaking with CBC News, Cassidy said of his decision to launch Maritime Bus: “We just said … busing is needed in the region and we are the ones to do it, and that’s how Maritime Bus started.”

Here’s to the next 10 years!

MARINE ATLANTIC REPORTS SUCCESSFUL SUMMER

Marine Atlantic CEO Murray Hupman says the Crown corporation carried far more passengers this past July and August than it did in the pre-pandemic summer of 2019. PHOTO – Terry Roberts/CBC

Was it the relaxation of public health restrictions, the Come Home Year promotion launched by the provincial tourism department, or simply an explosion of pent-up demand by ex-pat Newfoundlanders? Whatever the reason, passenger traffic on Marine Atlantic ferry service showed a dramatic recovery in July and August. The Crown corporation accommodated nearly 160,000 customers during that two-month period this past summer. That’s almost 20,000 more riders than the service carried in the same period in 2019 – the last pre-pandemic tourist season.

The figures were given at the company’s annual public meeting on October 20, at which the Annual Report for the fiscal year ending March 31 was released. CEO Murray Hupman was clearly pleased at the resurgence in traffic, but wasn’t entirely sure why the summer was so successful.

“Is it the new normal? We’re not certain. But it definitely was a rebound from the previous two years,” he told CBC News. Whether this summer’s impressive ridership will enable the corporation to meet the controversial 65% cost recovery target set by Transport Canada remains to be seen. They failed to meet the target in 2021-22, as expenses increased and traffic continued to be affected by the pandemic. The federal subsidy requirement for the year was $131 million.

Interestingly, ferry traffic to Newfoundland is rebounding at a much higher rate than air travel, according to Colin Tibbo, Marine Atlantic’s chief information officer, who also holds responsibility for the customer experience portfolio. The often-chaotic conditions experienced at some of the country’s busier airports this summer may help explain why. But there are other factors at play, including the severe shortage of rental vehicles this year – a factor that’s especially critical at a destination where having a car is considered a necessity to enjoy the full visitor experience.

Marine Atlantic’s customer satisfaction ratings are showing a slight decline this year compared with 2021 scores, but that was not unexpected, Mr. Tibbo said. The levels recorded during the pandemic were “unrealistically high” he noted, and maintaining ratings received under such unusual circumstances wasn’t a reasonable expectation. Nevertheless, the most recent scorecard from Narrative Research shows that 78.7% of customers are “highly satisfied” with their crossing, and 95.2% say they would recommend Marine Atlantic. Not surprisingly, the lowest rating went to “value for money” with only 64.1 % of respondents viewing it positively.

You can view Marine Atlantic’s 2021-22 Annual Report here:
https://www.marineatlantic.ca/sites/default/files/2022-10/Annual-Report-2021-2022.pdf

In a late development, Marine Atlantic announced a ground-breaking five-day Black Friday sale on passenger and passenger vehicle fares, with a 50% discount offered on every sailing between Port aux Basques and North Sydney from November 24 through January 8. This includes the entire Christmas-New Year travel period, with no blackout dates. Onboard accommodations, meals, fuel surcharges and security charges are excluded from the discount, but the sale is strong incentive to travel in what is largely a slow period for passenger travel on the ferries.

CHARLOTTETOWN’S T3 TRANSIT CONTINUES TO SET RECORDS

T3 Transit is reporting record-breaking performance in 2022, with ridership growth in Charlottetown running far in excess of national and regional averages. SUBMITTED PHOTO

While urban public transportation across Canada is at long last winning back significant slices of traffic lost because of COVID-19, Charlottetown’s T3 Transit is showing phenomenal growth in 2022. The city-funded but privately operated service just set another new monthly record for ridership with over 106,000 trips recorded in October. That’s an increase of nearly 38 percent from July – just three months previous. Canada’s smallest capital city is riding the crest of a nationwide trend, but appears to be leading the pack both nationally and regionally.

According to data released by Statistics Canada on November 21, transit services countrywide in September had recovered ridership to about 73.5 per cent of what it was in the corresponding month of 2019. The agency reported that the number of urban transit passenger trips in Canada hit a pandemic-era high, reaching 120.6 million for the first time since the COVID alarm sounded in March of 2020.
More employees returning to the workplace, along with schools reopening, were suggested as the reason behind the positive results.

The StatsCan data showed a total of 120.6 million riders on urban transit coast-to-coast in September 2022, an increase of 25.4% from May. Atlantic Canada overall showed a significantly stronger resurgence than the national average, with the region reporting 2.5 million passengers carried for the month, up 31.6% from May.

Meanwhile, the PEI Government will continue to subsidize both urban and rural transit on the Island until at least the end of the current fiscal year. Transportation Minister Cory Deagle announced the extension of the $20 monthly pass on October 27. The incentive to wean Islanders away from private automobile use has been in effect since June. The cost of a monthly pass for seniors and post-secondary students is just $10, while children and students from K-12 ride for free.

PAL AIRLINES ENCOURAGED WITH NB-NL SERVICE

PAL Airlines is flying from Moncton to St. John’s with a stop in Deer Lake six days a week on its fall schedule. The regional carrier is encouraged by traffic growth between NB and NL. SUBMITTED PHOTO

PAL Airlines sees plenty of traffic potential on its routes between Newfoundland and New Brunswick – even though it has temporarily discontinued service to Fredericton. The regional airline’s fall schedule shows service six days a week between Moncton and St. John’s, with a stop at Deer Lake. This frequency remains in effect up to and including the Christmas travel period. The same aircraft provides service between Moncton and Ottawa three days a week, and runs to Mont-Joli and Wabush on alternate days.

Janine Browne, director of business development and sales, says there’s a strong demand for service between the two provinces with both YYT and YDF generating significant traffic. Not sufficient, evidently, to justify at this time of year the non-stop routing between YQM and YYT that was part of the summer schedule. But although the exact schedule for the new year hasn’t yet been announced, indications are that PAL will continue to offer service consistent with anticipated demand through the winter.

BARK AND FLY AT HALIFAX STANFIELD

While there may be a dark cloud of uncertainty hanging over Halifax Stanfield International Airport about the future of WestJet’s seasonal overseas services that may or may not be back in 2023, there’s a new business at YHZ that has tails wagging.

Air Buddies Pet Services is an overnight pet boarding facility located conveniently in the terminal building. It’s billed as a unique service for both travellers and those employed at the airport. Additional services are coming soon, including dog daycare, grooming, and retail.

NOVA SCOTIA TRANSIT OPERATORS RECEIVE COVID RELIEF FUNDING

Transit systems reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are seeing some financial relief, as a joint federal-provincial funding program will provide one-time payments to transit operators to help compensate them for lost revenues. The $10.9 million grant will be distributed to a total of 28 transit operators across the province, with $8.6 million going to Halifax Transit, $359,809 to Cape Breton Transit, $332,392 to Kings Transit, and the remainder going to a variety of fixed route and community operators.