Metro Transit is the primary transit service provider in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). The population of HRM is spread over an area similar in size to Prince Edward Island. Investment in Public Transit in HRM has steadily grown and as a result service hours, fleet complement and ridership have all increased at rates greater than the Region’s population. Metro Transit’s service area varies from the dense Downtown Core, to medium density suburban areas, to low density rural commuter hubs. In order to best meet the needs of these diverse communities, Metro Transit has developed several service brands. Through the implementation of these service brands, lessons were learned with respect to having a supporting network in place before implementing higher‐order service, ensuring the level of service is appropriate for the community in question, ensuring that the benefits of a sub‐fleet exceed the negative aspects of doing so, and ensuring that the conventional service continues to grow as necessary in addition to the other available service brands. It is also important to recognize that what the community wants initially may not be what will best serve the actual needs of the community. The solution to providing transit service will not likely be a full‐size bus in every situation, particularly in low density rural situations. The lessons learned from early implementations of new service brands will be used to guide the continued expansion of Metro Transit service in the coming years.
