The wheels on the bus go through the snow: P.E.I. buses on the roads despite storm

Despite plows being pulled off the roads, and the RCMP warning people to stay home, T3 Transit busses were out picking people up since around7 a.m. Friday morning.

The company said it's committed to providing a much needed service to customers.

"Some of us can enjoy the storm day and I say kiddingly and stay home in our cozies, but there are people who have to really perform duties during the storm," said owner Mike Cassidy.

"We have customers that depend upon us and we have established a culture here at the transit in the last 11 years, that the buses roll if it is safe." he said.

Safety number one

It's that safety that is top priority to the company, said Cassidy.

He respects the advice of the Department of Transportation and the RCMP, but said often it is different in the city where his buses drive.

His day starts at around 3 a.m. on a bad weather day and he is constantly checking road conditions until his drivers arrive shortly after 6. As a team, they all report how the roads were on the way in and make the call.

"We make the decision collectively, it not made by the owner, it is not made by the operations manager. Collectively we make a decision should we be on the roads." said Cassidy.

Throughout the day he continues to check in with his team over the radios and if the drivers think it's too bad to be out, the buses come back home.

Customer appreciation

Cassidy says there are still a lot of users on a day when it seems like the whole Island is closed.

He keeps track of his customer fares every year, and said he'll still get 400 to 500 fares on a snow day, that's compared to around 1,800 on an average weekday. Drivers, like Ken Jones, know how much those riders appreciate them.

"I enjoy what I do and it's nice even elderly people if we see them walking on the avenue we will stop and pick them up and take them to their destination," said Jones

"There very happy, they say thank you, we're some glad to see you".

Maritime Bus also operating

The other half of Cassidy's company, Maritime Bus,was doing off Island runs Friday too, althoughit did delay until the highway reports were better.

It sent drivers out to check before getting on the roads.

To get over the bridge during restrictions, it shuttled customers in 15 passenger vans to meet a bigger bus on the other side. Cassidy says it was important to do this during the holiday travel time, and the company also takes many packages to and from the Island.

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