'Deteriorating at a more rapid rate': Brandon buses showing age, city working to extend life

A Brandon Transit bus seen in a file photo. Uploaded Aug. 15, 2024. (City of Brandon)

Many of Brandon's transit buses are reaching their life expectancy, leading the city to look at changes in how they are maintained.

Carla Richardson, the director of transportation for the City of Brandon, said the city has a fleet of 17 buses, but due to the age of 10 of the buses, the fleet is never at full capacity – the majority being repaired at the same time.

"Unfortunately, the oldest buses, which are 2010s, are deteriorating at a more rapid rate than we would like to see. It precipitated us having to look at what are the different options that we've got available to us," said Richardson.

The city has already adapted some changes, including adjusting the number of buses on some routes. It is also using a service to provide additional buses to ensure all routes have a bus that comes every 30 minutes.

The city is also going to council on Monday to ask for an amendment to the transit capital plan, which would allow funding to be used to completely refurbish older buses – expanding their life expectancy.

"The plan is to get us out of this temporary crisis and address the condition of the 2010s and put forward in the 2025 budget, a comprehensive lifecycle plan that addresses what needs to be done at what interval, stick to those intervals and actually make sure that the funds are there to support the maintenance that's required on the bus fleet."

She noted a new bus has a life expectancy of around 20 years and if they are refurbished, it can extend them by another eight to 10 years.

In the future, Richardson also said they are going to look at purchasing new buses, whether that be diesel or alternative fuel buses.

She said the transportation department has been talking with council since the beginning of the year on how to address the aging fleet and she feels they are on board with the plan to provide a short-term fix.

While changes are happening, Richardson wanted to reassure riders that they can still expect their bus every 30 minutes.

"We're just doing it a bit differently. We thank the ridership for their patience and understanding as we transition through this and hopefully (we will) have the old buses in new shape in no time."