Tag: TAA

Atlantic Transport News – October 2022

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Welcome to the October edition of Atlantic Transport News.

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

RECORD-BREAKING STORM HITS TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

Fallen trees and other widespread storm damage in the wake of hurricane Fiona shut down both urban and rural transit on PEI for a full four days. The cleanup and recovery effort was hampered by numerous downed power lines, with many households still without electricity two weeks after the storm. PHOTO – Sheehan Desjardins/CBC

“Conditions are like nothing we’ve ever seen,” Charlottetown Police Services tweeted on the night of September 23-24, as hurricane Fiona smashed into Atlantic Canada, leaving a widespread swath of devastation stretching from southeast New Brunswick to the southwest corner of Newfoundland. That was probably an understatement. Fiona was indeed the storm of a lifetime, and its aftereffects will surely be felt for many months to come. In fact, many structures demolished by the high winds and heavy seas will likely never be rebuilt.

Transportation services throughout the region ground to a halt. On PEI, one of the hardest hit areas, both T3 Transit in Charlottetown and the Island Transit rural network remained shut down for a full four days. Mike Cassidy, owner of Coach Atlantic which operates both services under contract, said they realized early Saturday morning as the storm subsided that they “weren’t going anywhere”. Not only were streets and highways blocked by fallen trees and downed power lines, but there was a potential serious issue with refuelling their vehicles. With the power knocked out virtually everywhere, there would be no way to replenish when the gasoline or diesel on board was exhausted. On Monday, the third day after Fiona hit, he said there were lineups stretching two kilometres at the few fuel pump locations with power. It was Tuesday before scheduled transit service was resumed.

The intercity routes operated by Maritime Bus in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were only out of action for one day, but the effects on the company’s charter business presented a much larger financial challenge. Numerous cruise ship visits and multi-day tours were thrown into chaos, resulting in a substantial hit to the company’s bottom line, Mr. Cassidy said, adding that the impact was severe throughout the tourism and hospitality industry – something it did not need as it struggles to recover from more than two years of COVID-induced losses.

Stevedores secured MV Leif Ericson to the dock in Port aux Basques as Fiona headed their way. Although the seaport town was devastated with numerous buildings destroyed and one fatality reported, Marine Atlantic’s vessels and terminals sustained no significant damage.
SUBMITTED PHOTO – Marine Atlantic

Another location lashed by the full fury of Fiona’s wrath was the ferry terminal town of Port aux Basques on Newfoundland’s southwest coast. Homes that had stood on the edge of the Cabot Strait for generations were washed away by the record storm surge. Two residents were carried away by gigantic waves, but one was miraculously rescued. Tragically the other was not. While iconic images of the devastation were seen around the world, the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal and the two vessels tied up there reported no significant damage. Company spokesperson Darrell Mercer said planning for the oncoming storm involved docking two vessels in both North Sydney and Port aux Basques, with extra mooring lines securing all four.

“We’re going to be losing a number of sailings this weekend,” he told Saltwire News. “We expect there’s going to be significant demand next week to travel, especially from a commercial perspective. So, having two vessels in each port will allow us to resume operations fairly quickly and move as much traffic as we can fairly quickly,” It was not until Sunday evening that normal schedules resumed. The storm forced cancellation of the final round trip of the season between North Sydney and Argentia.

Air service started returning to normal on Saturday, with no significant damage reported to airport infrastructure. VIA Rail cancelled its departures of the Ocean from both Halifax and Montreal on Friday, and when service resumed on Sunday there were substantial delays as power outages had knocked out numerous grade crossing warning signals, requiring manual protection of train movements.

-Ted Bartlett

VIA “BUFFER CARS” ORDER HIGHLIGHTS DESPERATE NEED FOR NEW FLEET

Early evidence of the new “buffer” policy, as VIA 73 arrives at Brantford ON on Oct. 17th. Normally a fully HEP2 consist, the tail end is followed up with an LRC car as added protection. An additional LRC car is included at the head end between the locomotive and the first HEP2 car. PHOTO – Tim Hayman

In what seemed to be a rather abrupt development, news broke last week of a new policy at VIA Rail – all trains operating with either HEP1 or HEP2 stainless steel equipment, cars built in the 1940s and 1950s by the Budd company and refurbished by VIA Rail, would be required to operate with “buffer” cars at either ends of the consist. Depending on the train, these may either be unoccupied HEP (“Head End Power”) cars, an unoccupied locomotive, or other equipment. It was not immediately clear what prompted this decision, but more news has been forthcoming in the days since, culminating with a ministerial order directing VIA Rail to operate with this practice until several tests are complete.

The origins of this operating change began in 2020, when structural deficiencies were discovered in several HEP cars during a rebuilding program. This resulted in the cancellation of a more comprehensive rebuild of 17 HEP1 coaches by Bombardier, and also prompted an immediate inspection of the entire HEP fleet. By chance, these inspections took place when nearly the entire fleet was sidelined due to the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing VIA to complete the work with minimal service disruptions. Following these inspections, VIA hired engineering consulting firm Hatch to prepare a more thorough inspection and report on the state of the equipment.

It was the completion of this report that prompted the sudden change in operating practices. While Hatch and VIA have deemed the cars safe to continue operating, the inspections raised serious concerns about the crashworthiness of the nearly 70-year old cars, and the buffer car solution has been implemented as a temporary measure while additional simulations, tear-down inspections, compression-testing, and repairs can be completed.

On October 19, Transport Canada published a ministerial order requiring that VIA implement this buffer practice (though it had already done so a week earlier), and further requiring an engineering simulation by the end of October; a tear-down inspection of four defective cars by January 31, 2023; compression tests on at least two unrepaired cars by January 31, 2023, with a report on how this will inform future repairs; a full report on these tests by March 31, 2023; and finally, a compression test on a fully repaired car to inform and validate the repair methodology, due by December 31, 2023. Presumably, successful tests should allow VIA to end the use of buffer cars, but it is not at all clear at which point in the process this might be allowed.

The immediate implications of this new policy will stretch fleet availability, as all HEP consists must be lengthened with the addition of buffers. In the case of the Canadian, a buffer car behind the Park car will be at least a minor inconvenience to passengers hoping to enjoy the view from the rear of the train. On the Skeena, the Jasper-Prince Rupert train, it seems that the Park car will simply be off limits to passengers instead of operating with a buffer. Baggage cars serving as head-end buffers will not be able to be occupied by crew during the trip, which has also resulted in VIA not allowing pets in baggage cars for the time being.

In the east, the current Ocean consist, despite all of its shortcomings, will be relatively immune to this change. The HEP end of the train is already bracketed by a baggage car at one end and Renaissance equipment at the other end, so the only operational change is the end of pets being allowed in the baggage car. Presumably, they could be accommodated in the Renaissance baggage car instead, but it is not at all clear if VIA is considering this. There may also be some limit on available equipment, particularly as consists need to expand around the holidays and into next summer, presuming this requirement remains in place for an extended period of time.

The current Ocean consist already features an unoccupied baggage car on the HEP-end of the train, as seen here at Moncton last December, so there’s no need for a change to the operation; but the baggage car is now off-limits even to pets, and HEP fleet capacity may be strained as cars are needed as buffers elsewhere. PHOTO – Tim Hayman

Beyond any of these temporary issues, the much more significant concern that this highlights is the ongoing deterioration of the HEP fleet, which remains the backbone of all VIA services outside the Corridor. New equipment from Siemens will replace the HEP2s and few HEP1s in the Corridor within a few years, but there is still no committed funding or order in place to replace the long distance fleet. To date, the only serious plan was to continue funding incremental refurbishments to try to keep the 70 year old cars hobbling along indefinitely. Now more than ever, it is readily apparent that their time is running out, and in the absence of a replacement order in the immediate near future, VIA may soon find itself with no choice but to shut down service to the majority of the country.

An order for new equipment should have been placed years ago, but absent the ability to step back in time, VIA needs to be authorized to proceed with a procurement process as soon as possible. A business case for a new long distance fleet has reportedly been prepared by VIA and submitted to Transport Canada for consideration; hopefully, this very public display of the dire state of the HEP fleet will help convince the government to let VIA move Canadians from coast to coast into the 21st century, not merely those between Windsor and Quebec City. Time is quickly running out.

-Tim Hayman

WESTJET OVERSEAS PLANS FOR 2023 REMAIN UNCLEAR

The Halifax International Airport Authority is still in discussion with WestJet about the possibility of overseas flights from Stanfield Airport in 2023, but there’s no indication yet if any of the Calgary-based airline’s non-stop trans-Atlantic routes from YYT will be returning next year. PHOTO John McArthur/Unsplash

If you’ve been visiting WestJet’s website with an eye to booking a direct overseas flight from Halifax Stanfield International Airport next year and keep coming up empty-handed, apparently you shouldn’t give up just yet. The airport authority says it is still in discussions with WestJet about their 2023 summer season routes from YHZ.

“To our knowledge, no decisions have been made,” says spokesperson Tiffany Chase, “which is why you wouldn’t be able to see what will be available in the system yet. We hope there will be news on this in the next couple of weeks as they finalize their plans for next year.”

In previous years the Calgary-based airline has been offering direct flights from Halifax to London Gatwick, Paris, Dublin and Glasgow from May to October. Some of the schedules terminated earlier than planned in 2022, ostensibly due to operational issues such as crew shortages. But in June the company’s new CEO announced a major refocusing of their service offerings, which involve going back to their western Canada roots where they enjoy a substantial market share. Some industry analysts have expressed the view that WestJet has been less successful in competing with Air Canada in eastern and overseas markets, suggesting that they are essentially giving up fighting a war they cannot possibly win.

More recently, WestJet announced it would be suspending flights between Halifax and St. John’s for almost four months this coming winter and early spring. It’s believed to be the first time the airline has not offered service on that route since they first started flying in Atlantic Canada some 25 years ago. However, they evidently plan to reinstate the service beginning April 30, as online bookings are now being accepted for two return WestJet Encore Q400 flights daily between YHZ and YYT.

Also returning on the same date is service between Charlottetown and Toronto Pearson, initially four times per week but ramping up to daily in July. Interestingly, this restored service will feature Boeing 737 jets, as will a returning daily service between Sydney and YYZ beginning in August. There is no indication yet as to if or when the airline will restore service between Fredericton and Toronto. Service will continue through the winter on a reduced basis between Moncton and Pearson.

MV HOLIDAY ISLAND TO BE SCRAPPED

The MV Holiday Island, a veteran of the Caribou NS – Wood Islands PEI ferry crossing, has sailed for the last time. Three months following the dramatic fire and evacuation of the ferry on its July 22, 2022 crossing, Transport Canada has issued a tender for the disposal of the vessel. According to the posted tender, the successful bidder will have until November 30 to remove the vessel from its berth at Wood Islands, and until February 28, 2024 to complete the ship breaking (disposal) work.

The replacement for the 52-year old Holiday Island is already on order, but is not expected to be delivered until 2027. In the interim, Northumberland Ferries intends to continue with a 2-vessel service through some form of vessel lease, similar to the arrangement with Quebec’s Saaremaa I over the last few months of the 2022 season. It is not yet clear, however, whether there will be opportunity to continue a lease of the Saaremaa I, or if a different vessel will be brought in for the 2023 sailing season.

TRANSIT CAPE BRETON STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP WITH RIDSERSHIP GROWTH

Ridership increases are good news for any transit agency, but rapid ridership growth can result in capacity being unable to keep pace with demand. Such is the case with Cape Breton’s transit agency, which has seen ridership increase four-fold in the last 5 years. Much of the ridership growth has been tied to increased enrollment at Cape Breton University, thanks in large part to more international students coming to Cape Breton to study.

As CBC reports, riders are now frequently finding themselves left on the side of the road as full buses pass, unable to pick up more passengers. With buses running on a half-hour (or less frequent) schedule, full buses make the system increasingly difficult to use, and may leave some students seeking out cars or other options to get around.

The municipality is evidently aware of the issue and would like to add capacity to the bus fleet, but few buses are available to bring in on such a rapid timeframe. Further, funding for that sort of capital investment may be limited, particularly for conventional diesel buses. Cape Breton is investigating the viability of adding electric buses to the fleet, but that isn’t likely to proceed quickly enough to be able to address the current crunch.

MARINE ATLANTIC MARKS SOMBRE ANNIVERSARY

Eighty years ago this month, the Newfoundland Railway’s flagship SS Caribou became a casualty of war while en route from North Sydney to Port aux Basques. IMAGE FROM TWITTER @MAferries

The harsh reality of the Battle of the Atlantic came home with a vengeance across Newfoundland on October 14, 1942. The Newfoundland Railway ferry SS Caribou had sailed from North Sydney at 2145 the previous evening. In the pre-dawn darkness, about 25 nautical miles from Port aux Basques, a torpedo fired from a German U-boat struck her amidships on the starboard side. The mortally wounded vessel sank in just five minutes, with only 101 survivors among the 237 passengers and crew on board. The dead included 31 of the ships officers and crew, 56 military personnel, and 48 civilain passengers.

Among those lost were veteran Captain Benjamin Taverner, and his two sons Stanley and Harold, both of whom were deck officers. Some 20 years after the tragedy, Canadian National, which had inherited the ferry operation upon Confederation in 1949, named a new coastal vessel Taverner in their honour. And when a new superferry, custom-designed for service between North Sydney and Port aux Basques, was being built in 1985, it was decided that she should bear the Caribou name. When the new flagship of the fleet made her maiden voyage in May 1986, all known survivors of the 1942 tragedy were invited along for the voyage. At daybreak, 25 miles from Port aux Basques, the superferry stopped, and one of the invited guests threw a wreath overboard at her namesake’s final resting place.

Lest we forget.

-Ted Bartlett

Atlantic Transport News – September 2022

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Welcome to the September edition of Atlantic Transport News.

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

MARITIME BUS RESUMES 7-DAY/WEEK SERVICE

The gradual return of Maritime Bus services across the region continues, after the dramatic scaling back that took place during the pandemic. Heading into September, Maritime Bus announced that Saturday service would be returning on routes that normally ran daily, bringing the operation up from 6 day a week to 7 day a week service. The move was prompted by strong response to the return of Saturday service for the Labour Day weekend, and sees travel options on routes throughout the region now back to near what they were before the pandemic.

PEI TRANSIT SEES RECORD RIDERSHIP, NEW FUNDING EXPECTED

PEI’s transit service has seen a record year for ridership in 2022, a surge buoyed by a general return to workplaces, high fuel prices, and no doubt PEI’s ambitious “Toonie Transit” program. T3, the transit service’s operator, saw 77,000 passengers fares for July in Chalottetown, the highest since October 2019 when they saw around 74,000. Ridership in rural areas across the island has also seen a surge, and the operator has found challenges in accommodating the volume of passengers on the existing fleet.

Now, it seems the government of PEI is poised to announce increased funding for the transit service, and new larger buses are on the way: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-bus-transit-high-demand-1.6575207

MARINE ATLANTIC – VESSEL ISSUES CAUSE CANCELLATION OF SOME ARGENTIA CROSSINGS

Mechanical issues with the MV Highlanders have caused Marine Atlantic to cancel several North Sydney-Argentia crossings through September, leaving passengers scrambling to find alternative travel options. With the MV Highlanders out of service, Marine Atlantic has moved the MV Atlantic Vision to the Port aux Basques service, typically the busier of the two routes. Ferry passengers have been forced to shift to available crossings on the Port aux Basques service, a challenge with busy traffic continuing, or make different travel plans. It is not yet clear when the Highlanders will return to service, and with limited time left in the seasonal Argentia service, it’s quite possible that the remainder of the season will end up scrubbed.

WESTJET SUSPENDS SOME DIRECT FLIGHTS TO ATLANTIC CANADA

Air traffic into Atlantic Canada has slowly built back up over the last year, but recent news from WestJet will once again limit the number of options available to travellers in the region. WestJet has announced that flights between Halifax and Montreal will be suspended as of Oct. 28, and flights to Ottawa and St. John’s will be suspended in early January. This follows a previous announcement that WestJet would not be providing winter services Charlottetown, Fredericton, and Sydney. These decisions follow part of WestJet’s effort to concentrate more of their fleet on services in western Canada, part of a refocusing effort that the airline announced earlier in the summer. The decision will leave passengers in Atlantic Canada with fewer options, and raises questions about the future of some of WestJet’s seasonal services, like their direct trans-atlantic services from Halifax – particularly as the airline has paused acquisitions of wide-body aircraft, focusing instead on narrow-body regional planes.

TRANSIT STAFFING WOES CONTINUE – HALIFAX FERRIES SCALE BACK SERVICE

The continuing combination of labour shortages, absences, and challenging working conditions have left transit agencies across the board facing ongoing issues with maintaining sufficient staffing levels to operate their full services. In the latest such development, Halifax Transit was forced to scale back afternoon service on the Halifax-Alderney (Dartmouth) ferry service, operating on a half hour schedule instead of the normal 15 minute frequency.

The head of the union representing Halifax Transit employees warns that this trend is likely to continue, as operators are forced to work excessive overtime to compensate for staffing shortages: https://halifax.citynews.ca/local-news/transit-union-head-warns-that-service-disruptions-likely-to-continue-5733069

TAA HOLDS FIRST EVER NEWFOUNDLAND MEETING

On September 12, TAA past-president Ted Bartlett was able to arrange a first ever in-person meeting of TAA’s “Newfoundland caucus”, with a lunchtime meeting in St. John’s. Those in attendance discussed Newfoundland issues including gulf ferry rates, transit in the NE Avalon, trans-island motorcoach service, and lack of overseas flights from YYT. Here’s hoping this is the first of more such meetings to come!

Atlantic Transport News – May 2022

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Welcome to the May 2022 installment of Atlantic Transport News!

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

TRANSIT AGENCIES STRUGGLE AMID RECORD FUEL PRICES

Public transit – just recovering from devastating COVID deficits – faces another budget crisis amid soaring prices for diesel fuel, and there’s apparent reluctance on the part of most provincial governments to come to the rescue. SUBMITTED PHOTO

The soaring price of diesel fuel is having a severe effect on already-struggling municipal and urban transit systems and intercity bus operators in Atlantic Canada.  In most areas, the price per litre is at least a dollar higher than it was at the beginning of the year. In both New Brunswick and Newfoundland cities are calling on their provincial governments to take advantage of federal joint funding offers to help transit.

In St. John’s alone, Metrobus is predicting fuel costs will push the system $1.4 million over budget unless fares are raised or service reduced – which neither the agency nor City Hall wants to do. So far there’s no sign the Province is prepared to respond favourably. In fact, even though private autos and light trucks are getting a 50% rebate on registration renewals to help offset fuel costs, no such offer has been made with respect to transit vehicles.

A similar situation exists in New Brunswick, where the Premier Blaine Higgs has reached an agreement with Ottawa, under which federal contributions earmarked for transit and matched by the Province can be used for purposes other than what was originally intended. For NB, that means investment in highways and bridges, including highway twinning. Transport Action Atlantic views this as a most unfortunate turn of events – one that can only strengthen the car culture in a place where residents spend a far higher proportion of their income on motor fuel than any other Canadians.

PEI’S ISLAND TRANSIT REACHES MILESTONE AS ROUTES EXPAND WESTWARD

Funded by the provincial government and operated by Maritime Bus, PEI’s Island Transit now operates from Souris in the east to Tignish in the west. Soaring motor fuel prices are encouraging many islanders to park their cars and use the low-cost subsidized transit service instead. PHOTO – Maritime Bus

Canada’s smallest province continues to be a leader in public transportation. PEI’s Island Transit network was extended to the western end of the province effective 19 April. Residents are now able to effectively travel from one end of the island to the other for just a $2 fare, which includes a transfer to the T3 Transit service in Charlottetown.

Island transit reached a significant milestone on May 10. For the first time, the early morning bus arriving in Charlottetown from Souris had every seat occupied – a strong indication that Premier Dennis King’s transit-friendly policies are having the intended effect. Service in eastern PEI began in October 2021, and ridership has been growing steadily to the point where additional equipment may soon be needed.

Meanwhile, Mike Cassidy of Maritime Bus says the daily average of paid fares on their system continues to climb, from 266 in March, through 300 in April, to 349 for the first eight days of May. The fuel surcharge is set jointly by the regulators in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick based on a three-month weighted average, a process in which the company plays no part. It is currently 9.5%, but will increase for the next period based on the current price of diesel. Mr. Cassidy notes that base fares haven’t increased in ten years, because of the automatic adjustment for fuel costs. He says his corporate value philosophy is to keep fares affordable, and his biggest fear is overpricing the service.


VIA RAIL CEO RESIGNS ABRUPTLY

After just three years on the job, VIA Rail resigned – effective immediately – on May 20. PHOTO – theglobeandmail.com

Once again there has been a change in command at VIA Rail Canada. In a tersely-worded statement just before the May long weekend, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced the immediate departure of Cynthia Garneau, after just three years on the job and two years before her order-in-council appointment was due to end.

“I would like to thank Ms. Garneau for her service and her work over the past three years in contributing to the modernization of VIA Rail, and adapting VIA Rail operations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, while always ensuring the health and safety of employees and passengers,” the minister said, adding “I wish Ms. Garneau the best of luck in her future endeavours.”

No reason was given for the sudden resignation, with the former CEO saying only that her train had arrived at its destination, and she was leaving with a sense of accomplishment.

Ms. Garneau faced a difficult challenge from the day she arrived at VIA. She was new to the company and its culture, she had no railroad background, or any experience in an organization carrying passengers or with a need to appreciate customer relationships on a large but very personal scale. She’d been at VIA only ten months when COVID struck.

Her tenure will not likely be remembered as being positive for Atlantic Canada, or anywhere else outside the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec City corridor, where her focus had been clearly concentrated. Transport Action Atlantic was not able to obtain a meeting with her – not even a virtual one – during those three years, further reinforcing the perception that, in VIA’s view, Canada ends at Quebec City.

VIA board chair Françoise Bertrand announced that Martin Landry, who has served as the corporation’s chief commercial officer for the past eight years “will ensure business continuity”. Mr. Landry, who previously served in various senior roles at IBM, was recruited by former VIA CEO Yves Desjardins-Siciliano.

Martin R Landry, VIA Rail’s chief commercial officer for the past eight years, has been named interim CEO at the Crown corporation. SUBM ITTED PHOTO

 
VIA TRI-WEEKLY SERVICE RESUMING – BUT AMENITIES REMAIN UNCERTAIN

VIA’s Ocean consist for the peak travel season in 2022 is expected to resemble this view from last summer, with a mix of Renaissance and Budd stainless steel cars. However, there’s still no indication of anything to replace amenities no longer offered to sleeper class passengers with the loss of the Park-series observation dome cars. PHOTO – Tim Hayman

Restoration of pre-COVID service frequency by VIA Rail’s Ocean is just a few weeks away. The Crown corporation confirmed in a mid-April media release that the tri-weekly schedule would resume effective June 3, with departures from both Montreal and Halifax on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. However, it’s still unclear what the summer consists will look like. The online reservation system indicates that additional sleeping car capacity is on offer, using Chateau stainless steel cars, but there has been no word on what, if anything, will replace the Park-series observations cars which can no longer operate because the train cannot be turned in Halifax. Unless this issue is addressed, it will represent a significant downgrading of service quality for the higher-revenue sleeper-class passengers – one that will clearly make the product less attractive than it previously was.

Although dining car service is now available to sleeper passengers, other safety measures in response to COVID-19 remain in effect. Those include a continuous masking policy on trains (except in enclosed sleeper accommodation) and in stations, as well as mandatory vaccination as required by the federal government.

NS AIRPORTS GET GOVERNMENT CASH AS TRAFFIC REBOUNDS

Halifax Stanfield International is now a much busy place than it was just a few months ago. Overseas flights by both Air Canada and WestJet have resumed, and more transborder routes will reopen in June. PHOTO-Ted Bartlett

Activity at airports across Atlantic Canada is slowly rebounding, as people gradually regain their confidence about travelling. Although horror stories abound about excessive security and customs delays at some of Canada’s larger airports, this region appears to have been spared most of the grief, which has been generally attributed to staffing shortages. Schedules are slowly becoming more frequent, as both airliners and airport authorities look ahead to summer with cautious optimism.

Governments generally appear to be more focused on encouraging people to fly than on promoting greener forms of transportation. As a case in point, on May 6 the Nova Scotia government handed out nearly $20 million in funding to help airports in Sydney and Halifax recover from the pandemic and attract new airlines and flights. Of this $6.3 million goes to Sydney and $13 million to Halifax. In the latter case, the money will be spent on attracting U.S. and international flights, and also to re-establish domestic services that were cut during the pandemic. However, as reported last month in this space, both overseas and transborder operations at YHZ are already showing encouraging signs of recovery.

Meanwhile, at annual meetings held recently both the Moncton and Saint John airport authorities reported a much improved outlook for their respective bottom lines. Even the smaller airports are seeing increased numbers of arrivals and departures, with new flights being introduced at bargain prices by low-cost carriers.

LIVELY DISCUSSION EXPECTED AT TAA’S ANNUAL MEETING

Veteran NL politician Gerry Byrne believes the answer to the Marine Atlantic ferry rates paradigm may be “hiding in plain sight.” He’ll be discussing his theory as one of the confirmed speakers at TAA’s AGM on May 28.
PHOTO – NL House of Assembly

The agenda is almost finalized for Transport Action Atlantic’s annual general meeting, to be held virtually using the ZOOM platform on Saturday, May 28, beginning at 1400 ADT (1430 NDT). In addition to the required business, there’s extensive discussion planned on three major issues that TAA has been closely following over the past year – public transit, passenger rail, and Marine Atlantic ferry rates. Confirmed or tentative speakers and panellists include Newfoundland and Labrador cabinet minister Gerry Byrne, Maritime Bus founder Mike Cassidy, New Brunswick transit advocate Yves Bourgeois, long-time Trains magazine passenger rail columnist Bob Johnston, and Deatra Walsh, policy and advocacy director for the NL municipalities federation.

The business agenda includes annual reports and financial statements, appointment of an auditor, election of a board of directors, and any other organizational matters that may arise. This is expected to require about 45 minutes, after which the discussion portion of the meeting will begin.

As always, our AGM is open to the general public and the media. Non-members who’d like to attend should request credentials by e-mail to atlantic@transportaction.ca.