MAYBVM

236 237 theoutlyingcountyarea,andwe rebranded in2014as HalifaxTransit.We’ve reallybeenworkingtochange the faceof transit,focusingonthecustomer experience.The challengeanytransit systemhas isgettingpeoplewho ownacar to leave theirvehicleathome.We’re trying to identifythebarriers that arekeepingpeople from takingtransit andhowwecantackle those.Enhancing infrastructure isonesolution-havingclimate-controlled transit terminalsandbus transferpoints tomake the experiencecomfortable for riders.Positive resultsarealso comingfromtheHalifaxTransitTechnologyProgram–a multi-yearprogramthat takesus fromhavingverylittle techtobeingoneof themost technologicallyadvanced systems inCanada,ifnotNorthAmerica.” The firstbigproject for thenewsystemwasCAD/AVL (ComputerAssistedDispatchandAutomaticVehicleLoca- tion),which incorporatesGPSonthebuses,sotheycanbe tracked inreal timeandgeneratedata regardingon-time performance.Thatdata isusedtoadjust theservice for improvedreliability.For thepublic,itmeans theycanpull upanappand locate theirbusonamap.If it’s running late,theycanmakedecisionsbasedonthat.Faremanage- ment and,ultimately,electronicfarepayment isanother techsolutiononReage’swish list.“Transit isoneof the few placeswhereyoustill usecash,”heexplains.“Wewant tomake itmoreconvenient; haveanappwhereyoutap yourphoneonthe fareboxtopay.That’swherewe’re headed.We’restill a fewyearsaway,butwe’re lookingat HALIFAX TRANSIT bringing innewtechnologytorevitalize the transit experi- enceandmake itmoreattractive.” Thepublictransit industryinCanadahasbeendeclin- ing,despite record investmentbyfederal,provincial,and local governments.Reagenotes,“We’vebeenflat for a while,but inthe last fewmonths,we’veseenridership pickupabit.We’vedonea lotof changes thisyear,in- creasingand improvingservice,andwe’veseenpositive impact fromthat.For thepast threeyears,we’vebeen workingontheMovingForwardTogetherplan,which is redesigningour entire transitnetwork,all the routes,etc. We’re intoyear threeof a five-year implementationof that,and I hopewhatwe’reseeing isa reverseof the trend of flat anddecliningridershipandwecanstartmoving upwards.” TheMovingForwardTogetherplanwas themost suc- cessful publicconsultation,intermsofnumberofpeople engaged,theHalifaxRegionalMunicipality(HRM) has everdone.Rather thanthe traditional townhallmeeting, HalifaxTransithadmembersof astreet teamapproach randomcitizensoutwalking,or at thegrocerystore,and givea10-secondoutlineof theplan,alongwithacard andwebsite linkwhere theycould learnmoreandfill out asurvey.“That typeof innovativeapproach is the reason wehadsucha large response,”saysReage.“The last time wedidaplan like thiswegot2000andourgoalwas to double that.This time it camebackwith16,000andblew our expectationsoutof thewater.” HalifaxTransit isalso