(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Craddock

TRANSIT

City transit routes restored after months of disruptions

Dec 8, 2021 | 10:00 AM

The City of Prince Albert has said all transit routes are now in operations after months of disruptions.

The route schedules have faced several delays or cancellations since April 2021 when the city’s transit fleet was taken off the road due to safety concerns after cracks were discovered in the frames of some buses.

The city has since used temporary buses to fill the need as they pursued a warranty claim.

Independent engineering inspections were required to confirm the cause and the city has heard from Vicinity Buses that a repair schedule will be brought forward for mid-December.

“I apologize to our transit users for the disruption in services that have occurred from time to time since April,” said Mayor Greg Dionne. “This temporary solution is not ideal but with a shortage of buses, it was difficult to find replacement options. We have left no stone unturned to find the buses we now have in place to service all of our routes.”

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The temporary buses have had new heaters and security cameras installed and have also been equipped with the city’s GPS trackers, allowing riders to check on the location of their buses online.

“We purchased a fleet of buses from a company that serves major cities through the U.S. and Canada,” said Dionne. “It’s an unfortunate position, but we are working through the process to get the buses repaired and back in service.”

The city purchased the seven fully accessible buses in 2018 for $3.34 million.

The replacement fleet will soon be bolstered by three transit buses on loan from Vicinity Bus while they are working on the plan to repair the main fleet.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock