Metro Vancouver bus users should expect ‘considerable delays’ after snow
Posted November 30, 2022 7:36 am.
Last Updated November 30, 2022 7:44 am.
TransLink is urging transit users across Metro Vancouver to be patient, with “considerable delays” on parts of the system expected.
The authority says this is especially the case in Richmond, Surrey, South Vancouver, and New Westminster through the morning commute Wednesday after Tuesday’s storm, which blanketed the region in snow.
“Traffic jams in key areas throughout the region last night caused buses to return to the depots late this morning,” TransLink spokesperson Dan Mountain explained Wednesday.
“As a result, those bus routes are being cancelled or reduced because while they’re in the depots, they need to be inspected, maintained, and refuelled before they can go out into service.”
It was quite the ordeal getting to Broadway northbound on the #16. Three buses before me got stuck. Be safe out there! @CityNewsTraffic @CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/MCFeN6IwkW
— Kareem Gouda (@KareemsGouda) November 30, 2022
Callers to CityNews around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday were already reporting long lines at bus stops.
At one stop along 41st Avenue in Vancouver, one caller claimed hundreds of people were lined up between bus stops.
TransLink says HandyDART service is also affected Wednesday, adding it is running “with limited essential service, prioritizing those with medical needs.”
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Meanwhile, SkyTrain, West Coast Express, and SeaBus are all “operating normally,” Mountain adds.
The snowfall Tuesday led to dicey conditions on many of the region’s roads. It led to crashes on roadways, people abandoning vehicles on highways and other streets, and major backlogs across Metro Vancouver as crews struggled to reach routes to clear them.
New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone urged drivers to stay away from the Patullo Bridge Tuesday night. (Twitter/@PJNewWest)
Mountain says what happened across the system Tuesday is not common.
“What happened for the most part last night is there were a number of traffic accidents all throughout Metro Vancouver and our buses are really only as good as the roads they drive on. If people’s cars are stuck in traffic, our buses probably are too,” he said.
“Many of the different motor vehicle accidents — whether it was the closure of the Alex Fraser Bridge or the various accidents throughout the region — caused serious delays to our buses and many of them got back to the depot so late that they’re still being inspected, maintained, and refuelled.”
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