Halifax Transit's MacKay Bridge weekend shuttle service taking last ride

This will be the last weekend for passengers to take advantage of Halifax Transit's weekend shuttle bus service across the MacKay Bridge.

As it stands now, a shuttle operated by Halifax Transit runs between Scotia Square in Halifax and the Dartmouth Bridge Terminal.

The Friday night, Saturday and Sunday daytime service was put in place as a result of the Big Lift redecking project on the Macdonald Bridge, but it will end Monday one month before weekend closures are expected to wrap up.

"So the following weekend, it won't be a shuttle that takes you over to Dartmouth or from Dartmouth to Halifax, it will be the traditional buses," city spokesman Brendan Elliott said.

• Macdonald Bridge bike lane changes to come after Big Lift

Halifax Transit's shuttle service thatruns from Sunday to Thursday evening on the MacKaywill continue.

In addition, the shuttle operated by Halifax Harbour Bridges will continue seven days a week.

Weekend bridge closures

Halifax Harbour Bridges has told the city that weekend-long closures of the Macdonald Bridge shouldn't last beyond the end of the year.

One of the things that commuters cherish and love about the service is consistency.- Brendan Elliott, city spokesman

Elliott said the shuttle service is ending earlybecause transit schedules are routinely examined and adjusted four times a year on the last Mondays of February, May, August and November.

"So, we had two options," Elliott said. "We could put the buses back in place Nov. 28, which is what we're doing, or we would have to wait until Feb. 20to do it."

Elliott said the city felt going back to the regular bus schedule would also save confusion for riders.

"One of the things that commuters cherish and love about the service is consistency and so that's why we only change things four times a year," Elliott said.

Big Lift on schedule

Halifax resident Robin Atwood has taken the shuttle over the MacKay Bridge a couple of times. She said while having the service end doesn't matter to her, it will affect her friends.

"It will probably impact a lot of people because they need to get to their jobs, their work, their family. They may have kids who need to go over there for certain things," Atwood said

'A very complex project'

Overall, the Big Lift project is on schedule and expected to be completed in the fall of 2017, said Halifax Harbour Bridges spokeswoman Alison MacDonald.

The Macdonald Bridge is expected to remain closed for weekends for the rest of the year with the exception of Christmas and New Year's weekends.

"We are as eager to finish this as anyone, but it's a very complex project," MacDonald said. "It's not a fast process."

For updates on affected bus routes, visit the Halifax Transit website.