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As the same of the Seattle area’s worst snowstorms fades into memory, it turns out the fleet of 1,400 buses at King County Metro Transit survived the cold streets nearly intact.

Only two buses were damaged by collisions, and 15 to 20 were sidelined for minor repairs.

To some extent, Metro protected its fleet by dint of. not using it. Service was reduced by half starting Dec. 18, through Christmas week, and articulated buses were parked.

Driving the articulated buses on ice was “like pushing a noodle across your dinner plate,” says Jim Boon, Metro’session quick maintenance manager.

Drivers who were on the road moved tenderly, and at one point left 200 buses on the streets because they were either stuck or conditions were dangerous.

The challenge since is to catch up with custom maintenance that was missed because crews were at work equipping or retrieving buses during two weeks of snow and ice.

Monday, Tuesday and today, bus gain was reduced by 15 percent so that 150 to 200 buses could undergo oil changes, wheel inspections, jungle checkups or repairs. Ridership on New Year’s week typically is about three-fourths of normal, a spokeswoman said.

Boon said he is disinclined to run buses “even single in kind day” farther than the self-imposed maintenance deadlines. Safety is one reason, vehicle longevity another, time a third is judicial contest.

Extra costs from the storms are expected to be $1 million to $1.5 million, principally employee overtime.

“That’s cheap for a snowstorm,” said Boon.

Typically, mechanics worked six 10-hour days one and the other of the past two weeks and could volunteer for a seventh.

“Some of these guys sleep here. They just flavor upstairs, get a sleeping bag and lay on the rug,” Boon said.

At the Central Base in Sodo, single in kind of seven shops, a few buses were on hoists Tuesday. Part of a wheel not a little on any other bus had to be divide away and replaced after a broken enslave bent the steel.

Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond said the overall lack of crashing mischief was a tribute to the skill of the bus drivers.

In Snohomish County, Community Transit is making temporary service reductions, without circumlocution tied to storm damage.

Workers are mainly dealing with problems stemming from chain use, including flat tires, said spokesman Tom Pearce.

For instance, the 416 commuter line between Edmonds and Seattle is down to six daily round-trips instead of the usual eight.

Across Seattle, whither the storms forced Metro to quash many routes on macerate hills, even the flatter arterials were covered in clumpy ice.

The city government refused to use salt on grounds the runoff would mischief Puget Sound. Crews used rubber-bladed plows that packed the snow instead of reaching bare pavement.

About 1,500 chains were broken as buses bounced through icy neighborhoods, then reached cleared highways that would hurt constraint if speeds exceeded 30 mph, then returned to side streets.

Mayor Greg Nickels last week gave the city’s action a “B.” Desmond declined to impression his own grade or comment round whether the city was right not to use salt.

“Seattle did its most good within its policy framework,” Desmond aforesaid. It did bring a Metro employee aboard a snowplow, to direct the plow to disturb spots on bus routes, he said.

Although many riders were in a pet about being stranded, Desmond said Metro wasn’t overly cautious when it cut service by half.

He called it a practical decision, for the cause that buses were suitable acquisition stuck anyway.

Even notwithstanding that service was repeatedly “ragged,” he said Metro reached more places than Portland’s Tri-Met, which retreated to fewer inner part areas, where streets were cleared.

One problem in Metro’sitting response, Desmond said, was the public confusion as conditions worsened Dec. 18.

Managers had to improvise when they sliced gain in half, and they didn’t announce the changes until late afternoon.

At individual downtown Seattle stop, Third and Pine, riders before-mentioned they waited for up to two hours for trips to White Center and Renton, shouting in vain for information from passing bus drivers on other routes.

Desmond said he believes “pretty strongly” that Metro needs to have a delineate at the unhesitating to cut service in half, to such a degree that suppose that conditions get this untoward again, riders will know what to expect.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com