King County Metro bus fleet mostly unscathed after snowstorms; service reduced this week for maintenance

As one of the Seattle area's worst snowstorms fades into memory, it turns out the fleet of 1,400 buses at King County Metro Transit survived the cold streets nearly intact.

Only two buses were damaged by collisions, and 15 to 20 were sidelined for minor repairs.

To some extent, Metro protected its fleet by not using it. Service was reduced by half starting Dec. 18, through Christmas week, and articulated buses were parked.

Driving the articulated buses on ice was "like pushing a noodle across your dinner plate," says Jim Boon, Metro's fleet maintenance manager.

Drivers who were on the road moved gingerly, and at one point left 200 buses on the streets because they were either stuck or conditions were dangerous.

The challenge now is to catch up with routine maintenance that was missed because crews were busy equipping or retrieving buses during two weeks of snow and ice.

Monday, Tuesday and today, bus service was reduced by 15 percent so that 150 to 200 buses could undergo oil changes, wheel inspections, brake checkups or repairs. Ridership on New Year's week typically is about three-fourths of normal, a spokeswoman said.

Boon said he is unwilling to run buses "even one day" past the self-imposed maintenance deadlines. Safety is one reason, vehicle longevity another, while a third is litigation.

Extra costs from the storms are expected to be $1 million to $1.5 million, mainly employee overtime.

"That's cheap for a snowstorm," said Boon.

Typically, mechanics worked six 10-hour days each of the past two weeks and could volunteer for a seventh.

"Some of these guys sleep here. They just go upstairs, get a sleeping bag and lay on the rug," Boon said.

At the Central Base in Sodo, one of seven shops, a few buses were on hoists Tuesday. Part of a wheel well on another bus had to be cut away and replaced after a broken chain bent the steel.

Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond said the overall lack of collision damage was a tribute to the skill of the bus drivers.

In Snohomish County, Community Transit is making temporary service reductions, directly tied to storm damage.

Workers are mainly dealing with problems stemming from chain use, including flat tires, said spokesman Tom Pearce.

For instance, the 416 commuter line between Edmonds and Seattle is down to six daily round-trips instead of the usual eight.

Across Seattle, where the storms forced Metro to cancel many routes on steep hills, even the flatter arterials were covered in clumpy ice.

The city government refused to use salt on grounds the runoff would damage Puget Sound. Crews used rubber-bladed plows that packed the snow instead of reaching bare pavement.

About 1,500 chains were broken as buses bounced through icy neighborhoods, then reached cleared highways that would damage chains if speeds exceeded 30 mph, then returned to side streets.

Mayor Greg Nickels last week gave the city's performance a "B." Desmond declined to issue his own grade or comment about whether the city was right not to use salt.

"Seattle did its best within its policy framework," Desmond said. It did bring a Metro employee aboard a snowplow, to direct the plow to trouble spots on bus routes, he said.

Although many riders were angry about being stranded, Desmond said Metro wasn't overly cautious when it cut service by half.

He called it a practical decision, because buses were just getting stuck anyway.

Even though service was often "ragged," he said Metro reached more places than Portland's Tri-Met, which retreated to fewer core areas, where streets were cleared.

One problem in Metro's response, Desmond said, was the public confusion as conditions worsened Dec. 18.

Managers had to improvise when they sliced service in half, and they didn't announce the changes until late afternoon.

At one downtown Seattle stop, Third and Pine, riders said they waited for up to two hours for trips to White Center and Renton, shouting in vain for information from passing bus drivers on other routes.

Desmond said he believes "pretty strongly" that Metro needs to have a plan at the ready to cut service in half, so that if conditions get this bad again, riders will know what to expect.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com