Hundreds of school buses across Alberta delayed Monday as snow plagues road conditions
CBC
School buses across Alberta faced delays on Monday as work continues to clear snow from roads after heavy snowfall over the holidays.
Mark Critch, president of the Alberta School Bus Contractors' Association, said hundreds of buses faced delays on Monday.
“We've certainly, in certain areas, had snow snowfall records over the last month, and it's made life quite difficult this morning,” he said in an interview with CBC News.
“This was probably the worst day we've seen in our business in a long time for snow issues.”
Critch said issues the ASBCA heard about ranged from contractors having up to 10 buses stalled in the snow, to drivers themselves not being able to make it to work.
He added that given the stretched capacity of municipalities, he’s not confident that snow on roads will be fully cleared soon.
“It's difficult for parents and difficult for kids and schools, and certainly we feel for all of them, and we do our absolute best to try to make the impact as minimal as possible,” Critch said. “But, unfortunately, this morning was a tough one.”
In Fort McMurray, Koryn Dyer with the advocacy group Voice of Albertans with Disabilities said heavy snowfall can severely impact those with accessibility challenges such as seniors or people with chronic pain or sensory conditions like low vision.
“What becomes very clear during events like this is how much accessibility can vary depending on where you live,” Dyer told CBC News.
She said snow-covered sidewalks, curb cuts, bus stops and transit platforms can very quickly become inaccessible.
“Accessibility during winter affects far more people than we usually think,” Dyer said. “The real-world impacts are significant: people miss medical appointments, they can't get to work, they struggle to access groceries, pharmacies or essential services. When snow isn't cleared excessively, independence disappears over time.”
Dyer said she hopes municipalities will prioritize transit routes and stations over main corridors when it comes to snow clearing.
CBC News asked the City of Edmonton for an update on its snow-clearing efforts and about the weather’s impact on transit.
“Over the past two weeks, some bus routes experienced delays, which ranged from an average of 20 to 30 minutes due to slower moving traffic as a result of poor weather conditions,” Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, branch manager of the Edmonton Transit Service, said in a statement to CBC News on Monday.
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