Shivering passengers make nine-hour trip from Thompson to Winnipeg aboard bus with no heat

Erik Skeaff was hoping for the best, but knew he should prepare for the worst before boarding a bus in Thompson Friday night for a nine-hour trip to Winnipeg.

The teacher had learned a valuable lesson during a previous journey on a Thompson Bus & Freight vehicle in frigid weather.

There likely wouldn’t be any heat.

“I tucked my hands into the sleeves of my winter jacket, and I had liner mitts on, and any time my fingertips came out, they would go numb with cold,” he said after arriving in Winnipeg Saturday morning.

Skeaff, bundled inside his parka, snow pants and blankets — he described it as “winter camping gear” — appeared ready to travel south by dogsled, not motorcoach.

“I tucked my hands into the sleeves of my winter jacket, and I had liner mitts on, and any time my fingertips came out, they would go numb with cold”–Erik Skeaff 

His educated guess was a correct one; it was bitterly cold as the wheels on the bus went round and round on the overnight ride.

Skeaff said he was concerned about far less-prepared travellers, including one nearby he watched shivering all night long.

“At one point, the driver got that young man a blanket, and he just put the blanket on top of him and kind of curled up inside it,” he said. “And then in the morning, when we were taking suitcases off the bus, I saw a woman shivering uncontrollably, her whole body was shaking.”

The weekend’s rolling misery came almost exactly a year after the previous Progressive Conservative government promised to investigate the Thompson-based bus line accused of operating vehicles with a variety of mechanical issues, including broken heaters.

“And then in the morning, when we were taking suitcases off the bus, I saw a woman shivering uncontrollably, her whole body was shaking”–Erik Skeaff 

Last March, then-transportation and infrastructure minister Doyle Piwniuk promised the province and Manitoba Public Insurance would investigate the northern Manitoba bus line.

Monday, Progressive Conservative spokesperson Matt Preprost said the situation was under investigation during the period leading up to October’s provincial election, noting the Tories passed legislation last May that would crack down on “chameleon carriers” — transportation companies that change their names to hide poor safety records from passengers.

“The new provincial government has a responsibility to act,” Prepost wrote in an email Monday. “The NDP transportation minister, however, has failed to act and has not proclaimed the (bill) into law.”

Thompson Bus & Freight incorporated in July 2018 before beginning a new company with Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation called NCN Thompson Bus Ltd. in January 2019. According to public carrier data, NCN Thompson Bus Ltd.’s safety certificate expired in 2020; Thompson Bus & Freight’s is active until May.

Manitoba Transport Minister Lisa Naylor said the province is working on the issue.

“As there are multiple jurisdictions with responsibility for the safety of passengers, Manitoba has been working with the federal government to address concerns related to passenger safety on buses travelling, particularly during winter months,” she said in an email Monday.

“This remains an important priority for our government. Manitoba is considering what changes to provincial regulations can be made to require adequate temperatures for passengers of private bus lines.”

“This remains an important priority for our government. Manitoba is considering what changes to provincial regulations can be made to require adequate temperatures for passengers of private bus lines”–Lisa Naylor

Skeaff said the bus left Thompson at 10 p.m.; the temperature was -20 with the wind chill. When the estimated 80 passengers aboard got to Winnipeg, it was -19 with the wind chill.

He said many people in Thompson and other northern communities have no choice but to keep using Thompson Bus to get to Winnipeg. A one-way ticket cost $80.

He said he’ll have a winter sleeping bag with him the next time he has to make the trip in winter weather.

”I think people should be able to take a bus without having to ride in sub-zero temperatures and get off shivering, freezing cold,” he said. “What I’d like to know is, can the heat be fixed on the bus, and if it’s not being fixed, is somebody just making money from freezing-cold passengers?”

In 2019, Thompson Bus asked the RCMP to find one of its buses and help passengers in -40 C weather travelling with little heat.

Siddarth Varma, part-owner of both Thompson Bus & Freight Ltd. and connected bus agency NCN Thompson Bus Ltd., declined to comment Monday.

Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation deputy chief Marcel Moody said the intention is to purchase newer vehicles with working heat. Two new buses were purchased last fall.

“We’re trying our best to make sure our buses are safe… inevitably, there are mechanical issues sometimes,” he said. “We have the same concerns, and we’re trying our best, that’s all I can say for now.”

Thompson Mayor Colleen Smook said neither the former nor current provincial government has ever connected with her office regarding issues with bus lines in the northern city, but called it a persistent issue that impacts her constituents and people farther north who rely on the buses to get medical care.

“A lot of people have no choice but to take that bus back and forth,” she said. “It’s not as if it’s just something that you could do (if) you want to or not, it’s definitely a service that is very important to us.”

Earlier this month, the owner of Maple Bus Lines — the only other Thompson-to-Winnipeg option — was sentenced to 14 months house arrest after admitting to falsifying invoices at a previous job with Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries.

Lori Mann pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000.

Three lawsuits were filed against Maple Bus Lines in December seeking $400,000 for loans and unpaid accounting services. Mann did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca