Snow stalls manageable number of buses, OC Transpo says

OC Transpo says between 20 and 25 buses became stuck in deep snow during Thursday morning's commute, but is defending its decision to keep its longer articulated vehicles in service during a winter storm.

Historically, the 18-metre (or 60-foot) articulated vehicles, also known as "accordion" buses, have struggled in deep snow. On Thursday morning, several could be seen stalled or jackknifed on city streets, and had to be pushed or pulled out of the drifts.

Nevertheless, Troy Charter, OC Transpo's director of transit service delivery and rail operations, defended the decision to deploy articulated buses despite the forecast.

"We're going to err on the side of, let's put that 60-foot bus out," said Charter, adding no more than 10 buses were disabled at any one time on Thursday.

Under a new pilot program, OC Transpo removes articulated buses from service and switches to a reduced Saturday schedule only when the forecast calls for 30 centimetres of snow or more. In some parts of the city, 26 centimetres had fallen by Thursday morning.

"What we're trying to avoid with the extreme snow events ... is having those large numbers [of buses stuck on the road] that we just can't keep up with," Charter said.

Even under less severe conditions, some buses are bound to get stuck, he added.

"When you're dealing with 15 [to] 20 centimetres of snow over a 12-hour time period, there's going to be some traffic delays."

A number OC Transpo 'can manage'

Charter pointed out that during previous winter storms, more than 100 buses have become stuck in the snow.

"[Twenty to 25 is] a number that our team can manage and be able to respond quickly to, and get back moving again," he said. "So in the context of things, I think it is a smaller number." 

Charter said OC Transpo will review its storm schedule pilot project once winter ends.

Articulated buses account for about half of OC Transpo's fleet. On Thursday, OC Transpo replaced as many of them as possible with 12-metre and double-decker buses, but couldn't replace them all without compromising normal weekday service.

As for Thursday's afternoon commute, Charter cautioned passengers to give themselves a little extra time. 

"Try to plan ahead, plan some extra time," he said. "We're working very proactively with public works to get the roads clear, get sidewalks and bus stops clear, so that we can return to normal operations."