Winnipeg Transit still down 30 buses on routes, says official

Bus riders got a clearer idea on Thursday as to why Winnipeg Transit suddenly altered schedules last weekand why there are 30 fewer buses on the roads and numerousdelays onroutes across the city.

There are currently 473 transit buses on the city's roads, butnormally there should be 503,said Winnipeg Transit director DaveWardrop.

Wardrop said an emissionsproblem associated with the Cummins engine,used on multiple Winnipeg Transit buses, has sidelined a total of 98 vehicles forrepair.

• Winnipeg's top bureaucrat sorry for sudden transit bus shortage

While Winnipeg is not alone in experiencing problems with the Cummins engine, Wardrop said other cities maintain a largersupply of spare buses. Typically,transit agencies have a 20 per cent spare bus capacity, while Winnipeg Transit has 11 per cent.

Winnipeg Transit is working with Cummins on the engine problem,Wardrop told reporters, and the agency may consider doing more in-house maintenance. Sending engines out for repair is both time-consuming and expensive, he said.

A new revised transit schedule is expected in December, but bus delays could continue into the winter.