Transportation in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia and Public Transportation

Nova Scotia is a small province, but it can take several hours to travel between cities and towns. For example, it takes more than three hours to travel by car between downtown Halifax and Yarmouth’s Burridge Campus. There is not an extensive public transportation system in Nova Scotia. Public Transportation availability depends on your community.

Many of our campuses are in rural areas of the province. If you’ve chosen a campus outside Halifax or Dartmouth, you need to plan how you’ll get from the city to your campus community.

Public Transportation in Halifax and Dartmouth (HRM/Metro)

If you study in Dartmouth and Halifax, the U-pass will allow you to use the local public transportation. Use Transit app to plan for your trips and watch these videos:

Important

Halifax Transportation Tips

  • Halifax and Dartmouth are split by the Halifax Basin, a body of water, there are 2 bridges and ferries which can get you across, you can also go through Bedford, which is a longer distance and time.
  • Keep in mind traffic and bus connections
  • Keep in mind methods to get across The Basin from Dartmouth to Halifax.
  • Traffic when crossing the bridges connecting Dartmouth with Halifax Ferries
  • Highway through Bedford instead of the bridges

Public Transportation and Rural Campuses

Truro, Cumberland (including Amherst), Shelburne and Strait Area campuses do not have a public transit system in place.

Campuses With Public Transportation:

If your campus has public transportation, know that bus routes might be limited (schedule, stops, etc.) Do your research to see if using the bus is the right option for you. Also, when looking for housing and your day-to-day life (buying food, accessing services etc.) think about transportation: if driving is a better option for you, budget for gas, insurance, cost of a car and its maintenance.  In Canada, it is mandatory to have vehicular insurance to purchase and drive a car.

Driving In Nova Scotia

You will likely need a method of transportation. In many communities, there is no public transportation. In other communities, there may be public transportation, but it is not very regularly scheduled (over an hour between buses).

Many people in Nova Scotia choose to purchase their own vehicle. When planning to purchase your own vehicle, you should also include the associated costs of gas, regular maintenance, tires (including winter tires).

If you want to drive, you need to apply for a Nova Scotia driver’s license within 90 days of moving to Nova Scotia.

Important

  • It takes time to book a road test: ask to be put on a wait list and be open to last-minute cancellations
  • Consider taking a few lessons from licensed driving schools
  • You need to bring a vehicle on the day of the exam. Driving schools typically let you keep the vehicle for that day
  • International students need to provide translated documents – contact ISANS
  • Having a car is expensive. Many international students do not qualify for loans, and they may have to purchase a vehicle in cash. Make sure that you budget for gas, maintenance and insurance, very expensive for international students, who usually do not have a driving history in Canada.
  • Winter/Snow tires are needed in the colder months, and can be costly. Ensure you are budgeting for winter and snow tires if purchasing a vehicle.

Active Transportation (Walking/Biking)

Active transportation, like biking, is supported in most communities with additional trails between towns besides biking on the road. However, if biking will be your only method of transportation, you should be prepared for the winter maintenance, and clothing needed to bike in the winter. If choosing to bike, it is also required by law that you wear a helmet, so you will need to purchase a helmet.

In the winter, if choosing active transportation, you need to take into consideration winter weather and road conditions. Temperatures in the winter average about -15 degrees Celsius but can get lower than –20 degrees Celsius in some areas (without windchill).

definition

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

NSCC Living in Nova Scotia: A Resource Guide for Students Copyright © 2023 by Nova Scotia Community College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book