Temperatures fell to a chilly minus two overnight, and caused rider mayhem on Vancouver buses on Tuesday morning.
Specifically, the buses on some major Vancouver routes experienced major delays, or they were rerouted.
The delays began just before 6 am and continued throughout the morning.
Large lines formed at major commuter hubs, such as the one seen below at Commercial Drive and Broadway.
TransLink stated that the freezing temperatures caused the trolley wires to freeze; however, the frozen wires weren’t entirely to blame for the lengthy delays.
Vancouver Is Awesome spoke to Jill Drews, Senior Issues Management Advisor, TransLink, who explained that the transit authority ran into issues with its deicing program.
“When the temperatures drop this low we have to use a deicing fluid on the trolley wires. We have three trucks that do this, and they cover 300 kilometres of wire,” she said.
“Unfortunately, one of these trucks broke down, which meant that we were operating with only two vehicles.”
TransLink added that they do not foresee this becoming a regular occurrence.
#RiderAlert 16 Arbutus/29th Ave Station service is experiencing delays in both directions due to ice buildup on the trolley wires. Shuttle service operating between 29th Avenue Station and Hastings & Nanaimo to augment service. Please allow extra travel time. ^CK
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) December 4, 2018
#RiderAlert 9 Alma/UBC/Commercial-Broadway Station/Boundary detour has cleared, however delays remain, please allow extra travel time. ^CK
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) December 4, 2018
On Monday, Dec. 3, TransLink made the first wearable payment option available to Lower Mainland riders, the Compass Wristband.
On Thursday, Nov. 29, the transit authority announced that they were offering 1,000 blue adult wristbands and 1,000 orange concession wristbands in order to gauge public interest in the product.
