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 a.m. 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.
Jill Drews, Senior Issues Management Advisor, TransLink, explained that the transit authority ran into issues with its de-icing 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.
