Nova Scotia transit operators getting one-time pandemic aid package

Transit operators across Nova Scotia are getting aid money in a joint federal-provincial effort to compensate them for lost revenue resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In all, 28 operators will share a one-time grant of $10.9 million.

The province's largest operator, Halifax Transit will receive the lion's share – $8.6 million — while CBRM Transit will get $359,809. Kings Transit Authority will receive $332,392.

Nova Scotia Transportation Minister Kim Masland said the money would allow operators to recoup some of the losses incurred as a result of people staying home or limiting travel since 2020.

"There's no doubt that the pandemic had, and continues to have, a huge impact on all of our lives," Masland said Friday outside the office of Queens County Transit in Liverpool. "Transit services across our country were not immune.

"With so many people staying home and day-to-day routines disrupted, transit operators of all shapes and sizes experienced significant decreases in ridership, and that led to challenging shortfalls."

In 2020 to 2021, the city reported Halifax Transit saw fare revenue fall to $6.5 million from $21.1 million pre-pandemic. Numbers for the most recent years show revenue from fares has still not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.

Other fixed route operators getting the aid include:

• Bridgewater Transit, $113,839.
• Yarmouth Transit (town), $108,170.
• Pictou County Transit (Stellarton and New Glasgow), $109,722.
• Antigonish Community Transit Society, $101,620.
• Strait Area Transit (Inverness), $101,472.

Smaller community operators who use mini-buses or minivans to deliver point-to-point or door-to-door service include:

• Antigonish Community Transit Society, $64,052.
• BayRides (St. Margaret's Bay Community Transit), $49,244.
• CHAD Transit, Pictou County, $96,167.
• Chester Community Wheels, $30,728.
• Colchester Transportation Cooperative Limited, $68,233.
• Cumberland County Transportation Society, $47,041.
• East Hants Community Rider, $65,882.
• HOPE Dial-a-Ride, Yarmouth, $76,909.
• Kings Point-To-Point Transit, $88,854.
• La Coopérative de Transport de Chéticamp Ltée, $53,392.
• Le Transport de Clare, $88,405.
• Musgo Rider, $53,430.
• Musgo Valley-Sheet Harbour, $34,659.
• Queens Transit Society, $46,617.
• Sou'West Nova Transit, $42,560.
• Strait Area Transit, $41,436.
• Trans County Transportation Society, Annapolis Valley, $53,030.
• Transit Association of Guysborough, $15,012.
• Victoria County Transit, $30,083
• West Hants Dial-a-Ride, $52,368.