Halifax Transit has launched Account-Based Ticketing (ABT) across its full bus and ferry network in partnership with Masabi. With the new system, riders using the HFXGO app can now use their phone to board, with no need to decide which ticket or pass to buy before they travel.
Riders can scan the HFXGO app on a Justride Validator (JRV) when boarding a bus or when entering the platform at a ferry terminal. With fare capping, riders never pay more than the price of a day pass, currently $7.50 for adults, regardless of how many journeys they make. The same applies across the month, with spend capped at the value of a monthly pass, currently $90. Concession and youth fares are also capped at their own reduced rates, and occasional riders now get the same value regular pass holders have always had, without committing money upfront.
Bus and ferry journeys count toward the same caps, so a commuter who rides a bus to the terminal and crosses the harbour by ferry is treated as making one journey through one network, not two trips through two fare systems.
The launch builds on Halifax Transit's HFXGO mobile ticketing rollout with Masabi in November 2023. The modular design of Masabi’s Justride platform allowed the agency to add account-based fares and validation on top of the digital foundation it already had, keeping day-to-day operations stable through the transition. Riders who prefer to keep buying tickets and passes as they do today can continue to do so. Continuing that programme of modernization, Halifax Transit will deploy Open Payments in the coming months, enabling riders to pay directly with a contactless bank card or mobile wallet.
"This launch marks a major step forward in making Halifax Transit services easier to use, faster and more convenient for everyone who rides with us," said Robin Gerus, Executive Director at Halifax Transit. "Riders no longer need to work out which ticket or pass to buy before they travel, and they can move between our buses and our ferries knowing they will always pay the best fare."
"Transit agencies are increasingly looking to modernize fare collection without taking on the cost and risk of replacing everything at once," said Brian Zanghi, CEO at Masabi. "Halifax Transit's progression from mobile ticketing to a fully account-based system, with Open Payments to follow, shows how agencies can build capability in phases on top of what already works. We are delighted to partner with them on this next step."
Halifax Transit serves the Halifax Regional Municipality with 63 conventional bus routes, three regional express routes, three rural routes, and two ferry routes across Halifax Harbour, carrying 32.3 million rides a year. The ferry service is among the oldest continuously operating saltwater ferry routes in North America and remains a working part of the daily commute rather than a tourist attraction.