When it comes to Halifax’s traffic, the city ranks amongst an elite few — and it’s not for the right reasons.
New data from geolocation firm, TomTom, shows drivers in Halifax are dealing with the third-worst congestion in the country, trailing on the heels of Toronto and Vancouver.
Dalhousie University student Simon Beck knows all too well just how congested traffic can be.
“Every time you have to leave the city or even come back to the city between 3:00 and 7:00, or 8:00 (p.m.) is almost impossible,” he said.
Using GPS data, the analysist shows Halifax’s average congestion level was 45 per cent in 2025, with that number doubling to nearly 90 per cent during the evening rush hour.
The study found drivers spent about 111 hours waiting in rush-hour traffic.
Ahsan Habib, director of Dalhousie Transportation Collaboratory, studies and examines traffic.
He says a post-COVID population boom paired with more people returning to in-person work has led to traffic gridlocks.
“The biggest driver is, of course, the population growth,” he added.
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“So our (commute time) has increased since we are one of the highest growing municipalities in the country.”
Habib points out 77 per cent of people in Halifax still commute by car but introducing bus routes that completely bypass traffic might help shift that behaviour.
“Rapid transit is a bus service but it offers rail-like services, meaning it should have a dedicated lane, generally even removed from the mixed traffic,” he said.
The chair of Halifax’s transportation standing committee agrees. Kathryn Morse, who is councillor for District 10 (Halifax-Bedford Basin West), believes a rapid bus system would be beneficial and attract more riders.
“(It) would have more dedicated bus lanes, fewer stations, fewer stops and faster service throughout the city,” she said.
“It would be more reliable. I think it would be attractive and get more people using transit.”
She says while an increasing number of designated bus lanes have been created around Halifax Regional Municipality, more investment is needed to create significant change.
“In the next few weeks, we’re going to have a core services plan come to council. And I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to make some more intense investments in transit once we see that core services planned,” she said.
Until then, drivers might just be stuck and waiting on a solution.
“You’re really limited to your two or three (route) options and it just backs up and there’s no ease to that,” said Beck.
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Traffic study shows Halifax had some of the worst congestion in Canada last year
