Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - 10:55am

We are sorry to announce that on Friday, March 9, Capital Health will stop its shuttle service from Mumford Road to the Halifax Infirmary.

When the shuttle was announced, we stated that 125 round trip riders were needed every day to break even on the cost of running the service. Only 20 round trip riders are using the shuttle every day. Capital Health cannot continue to run it at a financial loss, especially not in this time of financial restraint.

• The last run will be Friday, March 9, at 8 p.m. leaving the Halifax Infirmary
• All unused tickets after Friday will be refunded. Simply return to any of the gift shops at the Halifax Infirmary and VG sites for your ticket refund.

Dartmouth? Sackville?

Several of you have emailed about a shuttle for Dartmouth and Sackville. At this time the numbers are not sufficient to operate a shuttle from another location.

We know there is a need to meet the unique travel demands of shift workers that Metro Transit (when operating) does not serve and that the Halifax peninsula suffers from an acute lack of parking space.

To that end, Capital Health is part of a District Transportation Demand Committee that includes representatives from the IWK, Department of National Defense (DND), St. Mary’s University, Dalhousie University and HRM. This committee is studying whether it’s feasible to run shuttle buses from Bayers Lake Business Park and locations in Sackville and Dartmouth to bring riders into the peninsula. It’s hoped with this bigger volume of potential passengers from the universities, hospitals, City and DND that these buses will be viable. This evaluation, led by Dalhousie, will be completed by August 2012.

We thank those who took advantage of this pilot project and we will continue to pursue opportunities to meet the transportation needs of our staff.

Brian Rankine,
Executive Director, Business Development

Schedules - * Arrival times are estimated 
There is no service on weekends

Who can use the shuttle?

• All Capital Health and IWK employees

Where do I catch the shuttle?

• In the morning, the shuttle leaves from the Mumford Road Park N Ride parking lot at the West End Mall
• In late afternoon, the shuttle leaves from the Summer Street entrance at the Halifax Infirmary Site
• The shuttle loop runs between Mumford Road and the Halifax Infirmary
• Look for the Perry Rand school bus (signs identifying Capital Health & IWK in windows)
• Shuttle pick-up will be along the railway fence area near Tim Hortons

What do I need to ride?

• A ticket

What’s the cost?

• One-way fare costs $2.50 - TICKETS ONLY
  • Shuttle driver will not take cash
• Tickets are sold in books of 10 for a total cost of $25.00 (taxes in)
• To buy a book of tickets, you must show your Capital Health or IWK employee ID
• You can split the tickets with your co-workers if you wish

Where do I get tickets?

• Tickets are on sale NOW at all gift and convenience shops at the VG, Dickson and HI sites and at the IWK South Side Café (IWK Cafeteria) and the Business Office (Women’s Building Lobby) starting

How do I get from the Halifax Infirmary to the VG/Centennial/Dickson/Mackenzie/Bethune/IWK sites?

• You can walk between the sites (takes about 10-15 minutes)
• You can take the shuttle that runs between the HI site and the Mackenzie building

What else do I need to know?

• We’ve hired a security guard on site during shuttle operating hours only
• Using the bus and leaving your car are at your own risk
• Bus seating capacity is 44 people

What else you need to know:

• This is a six-week pilot until March 30, 2012
• If the transit strike ends, the shuttle will continue until March 30
• Capital Health will not make any money from this pilot
• To break even we need 125 round trip riders a day and ridership is what will determine if the pilot moves into April
• Please let us know how it’s working! capitalnews@cdha.nshealth.ca

We sincerely hope this pilot project helps meet the needs of many of you trying to find ways to get to and from work. If this is successful, we are hoping to extend shuttle services to one or two more locations around HRM.