Elected officials plan to come together this year to try to reinstate bus service between Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast and Powell River.
Previously Malaspina Coach Lines offered daily service between the three areas, but that service was cancelled indefinitely by the company on Sept. 13, 2015.
Pender Harbour regional district director Frank Mauro said he’s been speaking with Patrick Brabazon, chair of the Powell River Regional District, about getting a bus back up and running for constituents.
“I’ve spoken to people in financing informally to try to see the sort of viability, and we’re still planning to do some sort of presentation to the province regarding Malaspina and seeing what we can do about some service – but really, that’s the limit of it right now. Those conversations haven’t gone any farther yet,” Mauro said, noting the long Christmas break for governments paused progress.
“It’s something that I’ll be putting a focus on and that will be early in the new year because we want to see where we can go with it.”
He said he’s been fielding lots of calls from constituents who used the Malaspina Coach Lines service regularly, some to get to and from Vancouver and some to travel between Pender Harbour and Sechelt.
“I have heard from a number of people and I can only see it getting more so in the summertime because that’s when people use it even more so than they do in the winter,” Mauro said.
He noted the issue is “very important” to many of his constituents.
Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons said he’s also heard of many hardships from constituents due to the loss of Malaspina Coach Lines service, which was the only bus service north of Halfmoon Bay.
He said several Powell River residents have told him about their troubles trying to get to medical appointments in Vancouver. Some have had to be flown into the city.
“Not all people can afford to travel by plane and their only option is to hitchhike or to catch a lift with somebody – and if they don’t live here and they don’t know people and they’re just coming to visit a relative, it’s impossible,” Simons said.
“Our economy is ultimately impacted.”
He said he wasn’t entirely sure why Malaspina Coach Lines cancelled its service last September but noted he was told it had something to do with BC Ferries’ sailing times.
“According to the operators of Malaspina, the ferry didn’t wait for the bus even if the bus was just a little bit late. The policy was not to assure loading, and that plus the changes to the schedules really made things complicated, in the summer especially,” Simons said.
While no reason for the cancellation of service was ever given by Malaspina Coach Lines and no requests for comment by Coast Reporter have been responded to, the company filed a lawsuit against its vehicle provider Mercedes-Benz Canada, Inc. and the Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Canada Corporation on Oct. 30, 2015.
The lawsuit alleges the “sprinter van models” provided by Mercedes-Benz Canada, Inc. between Dec. 2, 2011 and Aug. 31, 2012 were defective, leaking water from the air conditioner units and the side passenger windows. The leaks allegedly damaged the ceiling, floorboards, seat cushions and upholstery in the vehicles as well as cargo being transported by Malaspina Coach Lines. The lawsuit alleges the leaks ultimately led to mould forming, which created a health hazard for passengers.
The lawsuit also alleges two vehicles provided by Mercedes-Benz “did not provide hot air in the passenger compartments,” and that the defects were never fixed by Mercedes-Benz, despite repeated calls for servicing and the purchase of an extended warranty by Malaspina Coach Lines.
“In the summer, passengers would have water dropping on their heads [from] the AC units; and in the winter, passengers would not have hot air to warm them, subjected to cold air entering the passenger compartment, and water leaking on them from the side or the top of the passenger compartment,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit suggests Malaspina Coach Lines was “left for a period of approximately three years in the position of either not being able to service their passengers or in a position of driving buses that are neither fit nor suitable for passengers and goods transportation.”
The lawsuit goes on, “Shortly after the plaintiff started to use the defective vehicles, passengers refused to board the defective vehicle or phoned the plaintiff to find out whether the defective vehicles were being used in order to avoid travelling on them. Other passengers wrote to the passenger transportation department of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure of British Columbia, voicing their concerns over the defective vehicles.”
Mercedes-Benz Canada, Inc. has yet to file a response to the notice of civil claim.
