Saskatoon Transit director says aging fleet is contributing to bus cancellations

A bus is seen in downtown Saskatoon on March 1, 2022. (Josh Lynn/CTV News)

Saskatoon Transit director Jim McDonald says the city's fleet is growing smaller each year and that's making it hard to weather the current repair parts shortage.

"Unfortunately, we haven't had any new vehicles put into our fleet in the last four years. So that has a bearing on what we're able to do," McDonald said during a virtual news conference Wednesday afternoon.

"As a matter of fact, the number of buses that we have keep reducing every year as we don't get new buses into our fleet and buses are written off due to age."

McDonald said the smaller, aging fleet combined with the recent frigid weather — which increases wear and tear on buses — has made breakdowns more probable.

The news conference came after numerous trips were cancelled Wednesday morning due to mechanical issues. Dozens of trips were cancelled on Monday for the same reason.

When city council met at the start of the week, McDonald faced questions about the cancellations, which have become more frequent.

The Transit director said bus operators throughout North America are having trouble obtaining parts for repairs due to pandemic-related supply chain issues.

When speaking to reporters on Wednesday, McDonald said there were 11 buses "sitting" in the garage waiting on parts that may not arrive until "three, four weeks down the road."

Due to the age of some buses and the fact the city's fleet is a blend of two makes — Nova Bus and New Flyer — McDonald said some of the parts needed are "obsolete."

"Some of those buses, the parts we're looking for have to be almost made from scratch again," McDonald said.

"Those are the kinds of things that are almost unique to Saskatoon because we're in a place where we've got a mixture between two series of fleets," he said.

"There's no old part and there is no new part available yet to repair it."

Despite the fact Wednesday morning saw another round of cancellations, Transit is starting to "catch up" as it receives parts that have been on order.

McDonald said Transit is also contracting work out to outside garages to help with maintenance and continues to pull parts out of buses sitting idle due to "long term defects."