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Owner of PA transit buses responds to criticism

Jan 16, 2014 | 5:25 AM

The company that owns Prince Albert’s transit buses is defending its maintenance of the vehicles in light of recent criticism from the system’s users.

First Canada ULC owns the transit buses in Prince Albert, which the city pays the company to use. The company is responsible for the maintenance of the buses. The buses themselves – as well as the transit service provided  – have come under fire from users.

Chief among the user complaints is the level of heat on the buses. The company is well aware of the concerns raised about cold buses by some of the riders.

With regards to this concern, a spokesperson for the company said the company has done everything it can. “They’re working very hard and very co-operatively with the city council there in Prince Albert,” said FirstGroup spokesperson Stephanie Creech – speaking on behalf of First Canada.

But the doors of the buses open and close “30 different times within a 30-minute route” at temperatures of “negative 48 Celsius with wind chill factored in,” Creech noted.

“We have suggested that we run the buses in lower gears, and that we minimize the amount of time the doors opened each hour. And everybody is certainly doing their best to accommodate these cold temperatures,” she added.

Creech said it performs regularly scheduled maintenance, ongoing vehicle maintenance, and ongoing maintenance checks.

When pressed for specifics, Creech was not able to provide “specific mechanics records” because she is located in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“That’s generally not information that we share with the public,” she said. “But we do our own internal checks, we comply with all government-regulated checks.”

Prince Albert signed the five-and-a-half year contract with First Canada in May 2010. The contract was effective as of January 2010, and is set to expire at the end of July 2015.

According to information provided by the city about the contract, the amount of money the city pays to First Canada is based on the number of hours each bus is in service in a given year. The hourly rate for buses over the life of the contract ranges from $55 to $62, and for the larger buses, the rate ranges from $66 to $74.

In 2012 alone, Prince Albert paid First Canada more than $1.2 million.

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames