Blizzard cripples Winnipeg Transit operations; more than 200 buses stuck in the snow, 71 had to be towed

As many as half of all buses that hit the road during the blizzard that pummelled Winnipeg Thursday got stuck in the snow.

Throughout the day Thursday, 225 buses got stuck and 71 needed to be towed, city spokespeople confirmed Friday. There are upwards of 400 Transit buses on Winnipeg streets during rush hour.

“That number is high. It was one of our worst storms for buses being stuck,” Winnipeg Transit manager of operations Rick Young said Friday.

Winnipeg Transit has some tow trucks of its own, but the number of vehicles that required help Thursday necessitated the assistance of a private contractor, spokesperson Megan Benedictson said.

Young warned bus riders to dress for the conditions Friday and to keep an eye on the city’s website for updates on delays. More snow Friday made service disruptions likely, he said.

“Buses will be late, some buses may not even show up because they’re stuck,” he said.

Young said even some office staff were out in a few areas trying to help free stuck buses.

“That number is high. It was one of our worst storms for buses being stuck.”

The union representing bus operators says some drivers were left stranded in worsening conditions and forced to work a 15-hour day “simply due to the inability to safely clear buses or get relief crews to them.”

“This was an extremely challenging weather event, and our members did everything they could to keep service moving and passengers safe,” Chris Scott, the president of ATU Local 1505, said in a statement.

“What this situation highlights is the need for better co-ordination, clearer emergency planning, and stronger support for front-line workers during major storms.”

Scott said a number of drivers didn’t work Friday after being injured attempting to get their buses unstuck Thursday.

He said the city needs to review its extreme weather protocols, including emergency rerouting plans following this year’s Transit system overhaul.

“This is about learning from what happened and making sure the system is better prepared for the next major storm,” he said.

Benedictson said Transit officials considered implementing the first level of its emergency service plan, but decided against it because it would create detours that would reduce service areas across the city.

“We chose to maintain service to the best of our ability,” she said.

Three ambulances got stuck Thursday, as did one snowplow.

Hundreds of Manitoba drivers made good use of their CAA memberships Thursday. They received 830 calls over the day, 617 of them requiring tow trucks.

“I don’t think, in the eye of a storm, we could have done anything better.”

That’s nearly three times the average number of calls CAA gets on a winter day, spokesperson Olivia Hodgkiss said.

“At the moment, CAA Manitoba is prioritizing responding to the calls of members who are in unsafe situations,” she said.

Last month, city council’s finance committee added $9.3 million to the public works department’s snow-clearing and ice-control budget. The city had budgeted $45 million for snow clearing this year.

Public works chair Coun. Janice Lukes said Thursday and Friday’s struggles were a consequence of living in a winter city.

“People just don’t understand what’s required to move snow…. We have a really good policy,” said Lukes (Waverley West).

“We’ve worked on it and improved it over the last six years, and I don’t think, in the eye of a storm, we could have done anything better.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.

Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.