VANCOUVER (CBC) - Greyhound has been fined $1,500 for an incident last winter in which passengers endured a 20-hour ride in an unheated bus from Whitehorse to northern B.C., as the temperature outside dipped below 30 C.
The B.C. government imposed the fine last month after investigating passengers' complaints from the Dec. 29, 2008, incident aboard a Greyhound bus travelling from Whitehorse to Fort St. John, B.C.
An official with the B.C. Passenger Transportation Board confirmed to CBC News that it reviewed the case upon receiving a complaint by David Hobus, a Whitehorse man whose daughter Beckie was on board the cold bus.
"I think it should be a wakeup call to Greyhound and other public transport companies that passenger safety particularly in the North, where it does get very cold is something that they need to take seriously," David Hobus told CBC News in an interview that aired Thursday.
Beckie Hobus and other passengers have said the heat on the bus stopped working shortly after it left Whitehorse.
But instead of turning around to fix the problem, the bus driver continued driving the unheated bus for another two hours, then stopped to allow passengers to retrieve clothes from their luggage.
It was seven hours before the bus pulled into the southern Yukon community of Watson Lake, where volunteer firefighters gave the passengers some emergency blankets.
The bus, still with no heat, then continued on to Fort St. John. Passengers have said the entire experience lasted about 20 hours.
The Passenger Transportation Board says the $1,500 fined to Greyhound is the maximum amount allowed under current provincial regulations.
"I think the message is that the B.C. government looks at this as a very serious incident," David Hobus said. "It's not the size of the fine, it's the fact that it's the maximum amount that can be fined."
Hobus said his daughter has received a refund on the price of her ticket, as well as a letter from Greyhound stating that "passenger safety is their first priority and that they're doing everything possible to make sure that these kinds of incidents do not happen."
"You'd have to question it after it took pressure from the government, from the media and six months of them denying that they had any responsibility at all," Hobus said of Greyhound's response.
Hobus said that for less than $1,500, Greyhound could have fitted every northern bus with blankets, or implemented a policy that orders buses to turn around if the heat is not working.
Greyhound has not responded to requests for comment from CBC News.
The B.C. government imposed the fine last month after investigating passengers' complaints from the Dec. 29, 2008, incident aboard a Greyhound bus travelling from Whitehorse to Fort St. John, B.C.
An official with the B.C. Passenger Transportation Board confirmed to CBC News that it reviewed the case upon receiving a complaint by David Hobus, a Whitehorse man whose daughter Beckie was on board the cold bus.
"I think it should be a wakeup call to Greyhound and other public transport companies that passenger safety particularly in the North, where it does get very cold is something that they need to take seriously," David Hobus told CBC News in an interview that aired Thursday.
Beckie Hobus and other passengers have said the heat on the bus stopped working shortly after it left Whitehorse.
But instead of turning around to fix the problem, the bus driver continued driving the unheated bus for another two hours, then stopped to allow passengers to retrieve clothes from their luggage.
It was seven hours before the bus pulled into the southern Yukon community of Watson Lake, where volunteer firefighters gave the passengers some emergency blankets.
The bus, still with no heat, then continued on to Fort St. John. Passengers have said the entire experience lasted about 20 hours.
The Passenger Transportation Board says the $1,500 fined to Greyhound is the maximum amount allowed under current provincial regulations.
"I think the message is that the B.C. government looks at this as a very serious incident," David Hobus said. "It's not the size of the fine, it's the fact that it's the maximum amount that can be fined."
Hobus said his daughter has received a refund on the price of her ticket, as well as a letter from Greyhound stating that "passenger safety is their first priority and that they're doing everything possible to make sure that these kinds of incidents do not happen."
"You'd have to question it after it took pressure from the government, from the media and six months of them denying that they had any responsibility at all," Hobus said of Greyhound's response.
Hobus said that for less than $1,500, Greyhound could have fitted every northern bus with blankets, or implemented a policy that orders buses to turn around if the heat is not working.
Greyhound has not responded to requests for comment from CBC News.