Calls for roadside assistance spike following extreme winter weather in Winnipeg

Winnipeggers are still digging out from this past week’s winter wallop, but the wait for roadside assistance is almost over, according to the provincial motoring association.

Between 10-20 centimetres of snow fell in the city since late Wednesday, along with 30 cm north of Winnipeg, some of which likely blew into the city, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. The volume of snow resulted in hundreds of motorists having to temporarily abandon their vehicles.

CAA Manitoba responded to over 2,700 calls between Thursday and 4 p.m. Sunday, with nearly 65 per cent of those calls being tow-related calls, an association spokesperson said in an email to CBC on Sunday.

CAA estimates an average winter day yields between 200 and 300 calls. Every day between Thursday and Sunday saw in excess of 350 calls.

The spokesperson says motorists have seen longer-than-normal wait times as a result of receiving higher-than-normal call volumes.

Dozens of city buses were among the complement of vehicles stranded. The city said in an email more than 200 buses had been stuck Thursday because of the weather, and another 11 more got stuck Friday morning.

As a result of the weather and ensuing chaos, some transit operators saw their shifts extended up to 15 hours, according to a Friday news release from ATU Local 1505.

“This was an extremely challenging weather event, and our members did everything they could to keep service moving and passengers safe,” union president Chris Scott said in the release.

Zakria Shoaib, the director of Bison Towing, said his team was among several tow operators in the Winnipeg area that were extremely busy amid the blizzard conditions, and thereafter.

He estimates call volumes hovered around 300 daily beginning Thursday, and they topped out around 375 on Friday — a new single-day record in Winnipeg for the company.

“We have seen, I would say, percentage wise 30 to 40 per cent higher volumes than last year,” Shoaib said Sunday regarding call volume.

Close to 60 per cent of all calls received since Thursday were related to motorists who had gotten stuck, with most of the rest asking for battery boosts, he said.

Shoaib said pre-planning in advance of the winter weather helped his team be ready for snow and blowing conditions that enveloped much of southern Manitoba.

That included continuous checks on the company’s trucks and mechanics working longer hours in order to help as many people as possible.

“Our guys did long shifts on that day and I think we were well-prepared because we knew that, depending upon the weather reports, how long it's going to last,” he said.

“At the end of the day, the thought we take home is that we are helping people out when they are stuck in this kind of weather, and it gives us a lot of motivation.”

More snow is expected to fall Monday in Winnipeg, with 2-4 centimetres forecast by the national weather agency.

The city issued a residential parking ban Thursday, which went into effect Sunday at 7 a.m. and will remain in place until Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Winnipeggers who park on the street and want a more detailed sense of when crews will be moving into their neighbourhood can check the city's snow clearing website.