Halifax’s ferry maintenance issues, service reductions ‘unacceptable’: councillor

A Halifax councillor says the ferry system’s service issues are unacceptable.

Issues with Halifax’s ferry service are piling up, and city councillors on both sides of the harbour are raising concerns.

Just today, the Woodside Ferry missed a round-trip due to maintenance during the lunch hour.

Two days ago, the Alderney Ferry missed its first run of the day for the same reason.

The Alderney service connecting Halifax to Downtown Dartmouth was already reduced to once every half hour for most of the day almost three months ago.

“It really is unacceptable that we don’t have this 15-minute service that I think people enjoy and need to get back and forth simply to work, not to mention just exploring our great municipality,” says Dartmouth East — Burnside Coun. Tony Mancini.

An issue with the Vincent Coleman ferry’s steering system was cited as the issue when it was taken out of service in January.

It was expected to be back at the end of January, then late February, but the city’s latest timeline indicates it won’t be back in the fleet until late March.

“At the same time we continue to advocate for improved transit,” Mancini says. “One of the best pieces of our transit system, in my opinion, is our ferry service, and yet we’re in the situation, so it’s very frustrating.”

“My understanding is we don’t store parts like we should.”

The Vincent Coleman ferry was put in service eight years ago.

New ferries or private sector partnerships?

Mayor Andy Fillmore says the ferries acquired in last several years have seen little maintenance but that’s changing.

“Like any piece of equipment, the older it is, the more frequent the maintenance becomes,” he says.

People really rely on the ferry service, so Fillmore says any disruption is hard to manage. On Thursday, he said it might be time to buy a new ferry or several. He suggested partnering with the private sector to limit costs, pointing to what’s being done in Boston.

“With the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority using privately owned boats that are charter boats, that are being put into service as commuter vehicles during peak hour,” Fillmore says. “But then during the other hours, they’re going back about their business.”

He says that’s a model that could work here.

“We have private sector partners that are interested in doing that,” he says. “I think this is something we need to look seriously at to reduce the pressure on the tax rate.

March timeline needs to be met: councillor

Specialized replacement parts required to fix the Vincent Coleman were ordered on Feb. 27, the city said.

“The delay was compounded due to the availability of these parts,” read a news release. “While the initial parts had been received, further technical difficulties required additional replacement parts to be ordered.”

“Halifax Transit continues to work closely with the international supplier who has confirmed that the necessary parts are expected to arrive within two to three weeks. Once these new parts are received, they will be installed and tested.”

Coun. Mancini says the March timeline needs to be met.

“It’s not about hope,” Mancini says. “We can’t hope when it comes to transit service,”. “We’ve got to make it happen… We’ve got to fix this.”

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Natalie Lombard

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