Councillor, mayor expecting tap to pay on Halifax buses this year

Halifax Transit still doesn’t have the option for riders to pay by tapping a card.

Giving Halifax Transit riders the option to simply tap a debit or credit card to board a bus has been promised for years.

And it’s overdue, says the city’s mayor.

“That is really the global standard, so we have some catching up to do,” says Andy Fillmore. “The plan was launched in 2021 and it’s 2026 now.

“We’ve really got to get moving here.”

Currently, riders can use exact change, pre-purchased passes or tickets, or the HFXGO mobile app.

No one from Halifax Transit was available for an interview on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

But in a statement, a city spokesperson says the installation of new modems on all conventional buses wrapped up in late 2025.

“This was a major step required before the steps to enable open payment could begin,” says Brynn Budden. “The need to replace the modems on all conventional buses was discovered during the installation of the JustRide Validators on all conventional buses and caused a significant delay.”

The modems allow for communication between all the different technologies on buses.

Budden says work is ongoing with the transit fare management vendor, Masabi, to get everything ready for open payment, “However, it will take some time to get everything ready and in place.”

To that end, she says there’s “no definitive timeline for open payment to go live.”

But Councillor Kathryn Morse, who is the chair of the transportation standing committee, says the time is coming.

“We really want to see it as soon as possible,” she tells CTV News. “I’m sure it will happen sometime this year.”

Fillmore says he’ll be speaking to councillors and Halifax Transit about expediting the rollout.

“I will be very disappointed if it’s not this year,” he says.

Ultimately, it comes down to improving accessibility for transit riders.

“We want to make it easier for transit users,” Morse says. “It would also help visitors to the city, because you don’t need to have as much familiarity with the system to use your credit card.”

A reloadable plastic card will also be coming with the rollout.

The city says it can’t provide a total cost until the system is up and running.

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