15 buses involved in collisions during chaotic snowfall last week: TransLink
As yet another indicator of the unprecedented chaotic road conditions during last week’s snowfall, more than a dozen TransLink buses were involved in collisions.
Social media lit up with photos and videos of vehicles colliding on slick snow-covered roads on Tuesday, November 29 and Wednesday November 30, including footage of collisions involving public transit buses.
TransLink told Daily Hive Urbanized it recorded a total of 15 reports of bus and vehicle collisions between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. This is equivalent to 1% of TransLink’s entire bus fleet of approximately 1,500 bus vehicles.
- You might also like:
- ICBC claims surged by 94% due to this week's snowfall mayhem
- "Tragic": Unifor says snow-stranded TransLink bus drivers had to walk 5 km to get home
- 11 places where buses can't even in Metro Vancouver snow
- TransLink to operate "UBC Snow Shuttle" if road conditions are severe
However, most of the damage is considered minor, no buses have been damaged beyond repair, and there were no injuries reported.
While the cause of each incident is under investigation, the initial reports suggest at least seven of the collisions were from other vehicles rear-ending or sideswiping buses.
Watch out! āļø #BCSnow pic.twitter.com/WdyyoXUOSt
ā cyberlander_ ššā”ļø (@cyberlander_) November 30, 2022
There are now about six buses stuck westbound 4th ave in kits. #BCSnow #BCStorm pic.twitter.com/5cRhhpZUP9
ā cambium (@cambium19) November 30, 2022
Vancouver roads right now. Drive safe everyone!!#BcSnow pic.twitter.com/QKNJVjshEr
ā Maliha Shah (@MalihaShah6) November 30, 2022
The public transit authority’s measures for preparing their buses for snow traction include installing tire socks on bus routes operating on hills, and replacing the longer 60-ft, three-door articulated buses with 40-ft, two-door conventional buses for improved performance on sloped, slippery areas. For the problematic West 10th Avenue hill to the west of Alma Street, TransLink now operates a special UBC Snow Shuttle using conventional buses during heavy snowfall.
TransLink does not clear snow on the roads, which is the responsibility of municipal governments.
Preliminary ICBC data also showed a surge in the number of reported claims across the province to the insurance bureau during the snowfall on Tuesday, November 29, compared to the same day the previous week.
As of December 1, at least 3,567 claims were recorded on Tuesday, November 29 — a 94% increase from the the 1,837 claims for Tuesday, November 22.
Follow Channels and Categories