SPOKANE — Despite some early morning cancellations due to Wednesday’s snow, the Spokane Transit Authority bus system operated relatively normally by noon, with slight delays and a few detours.
A number of bus routes were canceled Wednesday morning but almost all were back into service by noon, said Carly Cortright, chief communication and customer service officer for the transit authority. Routes 661 and 663, which service Eastern Washington University, remain canceled due to the college closing for the day.
Lines have been canceled during periods of low usage so the transit authority can best make use of limited staffing.
“Like many other industries, we are struggling with staffing,” Cortright said. “It’s not been uncommon for us to have regular cancellations that are spread out through the day. We try to choose routes that are least impactful.”
Routes 12, 20 and 42, the Medical Shuttle, Spokane Falls Community College and South Adams operated on alternative routes Wednesday because of the snow. But as of midday, most of the bus lines were traveling relatively normally. Despite the sizable snowfall, the buses have been driving smoothly without chains, Cortright said.
“We do have chains but barely use them,” she continued. “If it’s an extremely significant snow event or some other issue, we would make that call at 3:30 a.m. that service day.”
Paratransit also was operating relatively normally, though a few vans got stuck in the snow earlier in the day and a number were canceled because riders decided to stay home, Cortright added.
The agency encourages commuters hoping to catch a bus during a snowstorm or other weather event to sign up for detour and cancellation alerts at spokanetransit.com.
