A year after seven buses had to be removed from Prince Albert’s streets because of cracked frames, the City is launching a $6-million lawsuit against Vicinity Motors Corp., formerly Grand West Transport Ltd.  It’s the company responsible for the sale and warranties of the fleet of new transit buses which were delivered in 2019.

The lawsuit seeks the recovery of the purchase price of the seven buses, plus additional replacement costs for buying a new fleet, the cost for repairs and temporary replacement buses, and exemplary damages in compensation for the disruption caused to the City and its residents. Mayor Greg Dionne says they have been working with the company since April of 2021 under the warranty claim, and yet no repair plan has been presented that shows any achievable path for when and how the entire fleet would be back in operation. A full fleet of replacement transit buses was promised through the warranty discussions, however only three have been delivered, two of which have suffered their own operational problems.

The Mayor has acquired six conventional transit buses in cooperation with First Bus Canada, the City’s local contractor that operates the buses. They recently arrived from the Southern U.S. and three are expected to be on the road in June. The remaining are to follow shortly after.