OC Transpo union calling on city to pull articulated buses in smaller snowstorms

The head of the union representing OC Transpo drivers says the city's bar for pulling articulated buses from service during snowstorms is too high.

OC Transpo replaces most articulated buses with 40-foot and double-decker buses during severe storm schedules, which are invoked when the forecast calls for more than 30 cm of snow or other serious weather issues, such as a mixture of wet, heavy snow, ice, and freezing rain. Articulated buses typically perform poorly in heavy snow, compared to other buses, OC Transpo says.

But Clint Crabtree, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, says OC Transpo should keep the articulated buses parked in smaller snowstorms as well.

"Once you get a big accumulation of snow, the (articulated buses) are terrible," he told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron. "My members are stuck on these buses for hours and hours when they get stuck and also members of the public."

Crabtree says he couldn’t say how many articulated buses became stuck in the most recent snowstorm on Sunday, in which Ottawa saw 18 cm, but there were "enough," he said.

"I don’t have the actual numbers on how long they were waiting this time, but in the past, we've had people waiting seven or eight hours on a bus, possibly longer, before they get towed out."

Crabtree says setting the threshold to remove articulated buses from most routes at 15 cm, instead of 31, would be a wise move.

"Knock 'em off the roads or limit them from going into the local routes. Put them down the main arteries and let them run straight. You cannot have them going off the main arteries into streets that are not serviced and not plowed frequently," Crabtree said.

On streets that are not prioritized during snow-clearing operations, Crabtree says 40-foot and double-decker buses can do the job.

"We have a variety of buses. Those articulated buses do not belong on local runs," he said.

Crabtree says none of the buses in the OC Transpo fleet has snow tires. He says he's asked OC Transpo about it before.

"I think it has to do with the storage of these tires and taking them on and off the bus," he explained. "What they would have to do, change the tires off every winter and just storing the tires would be the difficult issue OC Transpo would have to face if they did have snow tires."

RETURN OF FEDERAL WORKERS COULD PROVE CHALLENGING

Looking ahead to the spring, Crabtree said he is concerned that a return to higher levels of ridership when federal public servants are regularly back in downtown offices could pose challenges for the transit system.

"There could be challenges because of the lack operators that there currently is right now," he said. "They're continuously hiring at OC Transpo but to keep up with attrition is very difficult. We have retirements of 10 to 12 operators a month right now, so they're trying to keep up with the numbers, but we're short and we're covering that with overtime." 

Despite the possible challenges, he said he hopes OC Transpo can restore confidence in the transit system. 

"I think that the public deserves a reliable service and we need to make the service reliable again for them so they can have the confidence in OC Transpo again, and we have to work on that," he said. "If that is the fear from the public, then improvements need to be made immediately so we can get that confidence back."