The heater on the bus goes on and on.
And when temperatures soar, that can be uncomfortable.
North Shore commuter Ric vanHeyst felt that heat firsthand recently aboard a packed 210 bus heading to Phibbs Exchange.
Despite the 30 C weather, the heaters were running “full blast,” according to vanHeyst.
“They are almost too hot to touch,” he wrote regarding the baseboard heaters. “In my ten commutes last week, I encountered three buses in this condition.”
There have been heating problems on buses on the 210 and 257 routes, said TransLink spokeswoman Jill Drews. “It’s possible it may be happening on other routes,” she added.
The problem is caused by a heating component on Nova buses reaching “its end of life,” Drews explained. Problems buses are taken out of service when bus drivers notice the heat system has failed, said Drews. “Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to diagnose the problem until the component fails,” she stated. “This is the first year we’ve seen the component failing.”
The hot topic has been recurring for at least two years, according to vanHeyst.
“It seems that they are unable to pre-emptively repair these defective buses, subjecting the unfortunate passenger to an even greater level of discomfort than provided by the current weather.”
Fixing the broken component costs about $250, said Drews.
Bus riders who feel excess heat can inform the bus driver, contact TransLink’s customer service department at 604-953-3333 or fill out an online form at feedback.translink.ca/.
