Minh Tan is not a bird, nor is he a plane. But he is faster than a Halifax bus.

Bored of his daily run, Tan was looking for his next big challenge. He was sitting on the bus when it dawned on him.

"It was a slow day. I was sitting thinking, you know, I bet I can run this route faster than this," the Halifax fitness enthusiast told CTV News.

So now, while some commuters ride the Number One bus, Tan spends his morning racing it on the sidewalk. The ride winds through downtown Halifax for nearly seven kilometres, which typically takes the bus about 28 minutes.

To compete with the bus, Tan sprints down the street in speedy bursts.

“Some days you win, some days you lose,” Tan said.

Some bus drivers don’t realize that Tan is competing with them. Others, like Brad Verge, do.

"I enjoy this job, I like interacting with people, so it's right up my ally. I was cheering him on a couple of times, clapping for him," he said.

Verge encourages his passengers to cheer on Tan, and sometimes the two enter into a little friendly rivalry.

"He passed me. I'm a slow driver, so you have an advantage," he said. “I've had some co-workers show me where the gas pedal is over the past couple of days."

Tan has altered his rules to give the bus a fighting chance. He said he stops at all red lights and obeys all the rules of the road.

Tan has since become known by bus drivers as Super-Minh, and the local legend has some tips for anyone who wants to improve their road racing times.

"Go race hard, and believe in yourself that you can win if you run hard," he said.

With a report from CTV’s Todd Battis in Halifax