BANFF NATIONAL PARK – There were no injuries when a Roam transit bus with no passengers or driver rolled off the road on the Lake Minnewanka route Wednesday.
The route 6 bus was at a stop and had let out its passengers at the popular lake location in Banff National Park when the driver went out to cut the power at the back of the bus to reset a malfunctioning light that had come up.
Once the power had been cut, the bus rolled into a nearby ditch.
“Nobody was on the bus. Nobody was injured, so that part is good,” said Martin Bean, Roam transit CAO during the Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission meeting Wednesday afternoon (Aug. 10).
Banff RCMP was called out to take statements and it’s still being investigated.
“We don’t have any more details on what caused it,” Bean said during the meeting.
Standish Towing was called to recover the bus, which was estimated to take about five hours. Parks Canada was also involved, Bean told the commission.
Bean told the commission the bus would be expected to go to Calgary for potential repairs and it could impact services, but it was too early to tell.
“Everything that happens will affect something elsewhere. We’re running on the edge of available equipment. … It definitely impacts,” he said.
The public transit service had already been impacted by the significant supply chain systems as well as the staff shortage felt across the world, but particularly in the Bow Valley.
Bean said one bus ran from Banff to Two Jack and Johnson lakes to help people in those locations. It then would turn around and go along the Bankhead side of the Lake Minnewanka Loop.
A portion of the loop was closed during the recovery process and arrival and departure times were temporarily impacted.
“If you have plans to travel to Johnson Lake today via Roam, we would encourage you to adjust your plans and travel either tomorrow or later this afternoon/evening,” a statement on Roam’s website announced.
The transit service recommends people check the app DoubleMap for up-to-date times of service at roamtransit.doublemap.com/map or on the app.
