City launching legal action against bus suppliers for failure to honour quality warranties

One year following the removal of seven buses from City streets after cracked frames were found on the entire fleet, the City of Prince Albert is launching a lawsuit against Vicinity Motors Corp. and Grand West Transport Ltd., companies responsible for the sale and warranties of the fleet of new transit buses delivered in 2019.

The lawsuit seeks recovery of the purchase price of the seven buses, additional replacement costs for the purchase of a new fleet, reimbursement of costs for repairs and temporary replacement buses, and exemplary damages in compensation for the disruption caused to the City and its residents who rely in their daily lives on bus transportation.

After working with the company since April of 2021 under the warranty claim, no repair plan has yet been presented that shows any achievable path for when and how the entire fleet would get back into operation. “These companies have let us down,” said Mayor Greg Dionne. “We did not get what we purchased. These buses are not safe to operate on City streets.  They have not functioned as a fleet of new buses should function.”

“We need a fleet of buses to serve our residents,” added Mayor Dionne. “We no longer have reason to believe there was a sincere commitment to getting these buses fixed and into operation, or to avoid disruption of service to our residents.”

A full fleet of replacement transit buses was promised through the warranty discussions, however only three have been delivered, two of which have suffered their own operational problems.  The City has struggled to find suitable replacement buses on its own,  but the necessity of putting into full service a limited number of used and converted buses has had regular impacts on the reliability of transit routes in Prince Albert. Breakdowns have proven common and parts difficult to find.

 “Residents who rely on the buses to get to work, to go to school and to buy groceries, have been left unsure whether a bus will be there,” said Mayor Dionne. “We know riders are furious and so are we.  We purchased new buses to ensure reliability for our residents, and we expected quality buses and a warranty that would be honoured.”

Mayor Dionne has been able to acquire another 6 conventional transit buses working in cooperation with First Bus Canada, the City’s local contractor that operates the buses. All 6 transit buses have recently arrived from the Southern US.  Three of the 6 buses are expected to be on the road in June and the remaining to follow shortly after. The 6 buses are currently being prepared to ensure that they meet the Canadian standards for transit and SGI certification. Once all arrive and are in operation, it is expected the City will have enough inventory to ensure a bus can be pulled into rotation if one or more is unexpectedly taken out of service for repairs.

“We want riders to know you haven’t been forgotten,” said Wes Hicks, Director of Public Works for the City of Prince Albert. “We have been working hard to fix this issue, and are committed to getting a reliable system back in operation.”

Residents that would like updates on ongoing transit route disruptions can sign up for email notifications at https://subscribe.citypa.ca/subscribe or visit https://www.citypa.ca/en/parking-streets-and-transportation/transit.aspx

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Mayor Greg Dionne
(306) 953-4300

Wes Hicks
Director of Public Works
(306) 953-4900