Commuters may continue to use their old hard-shell MacPass transponders past the Dec. 31 deadline, according to a news release from Halifax Harbour Bridges on Tuesday.
Halifax Harbour Bridges announced in May that the old transponders would be phased out by year’s end.
It said the old system was around 25-years-old and had reached the end of its useful life.
The release said the deadline to switch to new sticker transponders has been postponed while it works with the province to remove tolls.
In October, ahead of the provincial election, Premier Tim Houston announced that tolls on the Halifax bridges would be removed to save Nova Scotians time and money.
At the time, Houston described the tolls as “one more financial expense” and said the tolls were also a tax on time spent waiting at the booths.
When asked about the research that went into the decision, Houston said he “relied on a number of experts who assured me that if you have to stop and are not moving forward, it’s taking you longer.”
Some experts said the removal of tolls could lead to worsened traffic congestion and create a safety issue as cars tried to merge into the lanes on the bridge.
Steven Snider, a former CEO of the Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission (now known as Halifax Harbour Bridges), said about 82 per cent of cars crossing the bridge today use MacPass.
He said he didn’t believe removing tolls would make a big difference.
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