Bus service disruptions due to a problem with defective community shuttles could continue well into the summer.
Recent complaints about lack of bus service on Tri-City routes can be chalked up to the loss of those 62 problematic diesel shuttles, said TransLink spokesperson Chris Bryan.
"There has been no service cuts to those routes but what is happening in some cases, we've been short shuttle buses due to some of the… shuttles we had to remove due to the fume concerns," Bryan said.
Older shuttles that had been retired have been pulled back into rotation but those require more frequent maintenance and result in some routes being short of buses on occasion.
Bryan said TransLink plans maintenance carefully to minimize impacts on riders. Routes that connect to specific departure times for the West Coast Express, for instance, are not affected and shuttle shortages are dispersed across other routes and times of day.
"We've taken efforts to ensure impacts on days when we are short a shuttle or two are not felt all on one route," Bryan said. "We try to make it so there are very minimal gaps in service and they're spread thinly."
TransLink announced in November it would spend $9.35 million to replace the diesel shuttles with gas-powered vehicles, which are expected to start arriving in the spring and continue shipping through August.
"We anticipate that we'll soon have a long-term resolution to this issue," Bryan said.
