Article content

By the time nine-year-old Philip Lungu arrived home from school Tuesday evening, chilled and hungry and wet, his half-hour bus commute had stretched into a four-hour storm-delayed odyssey.

He was one of thousands of Ottawans affected as the snow — and the snowfall records — fell throughout the day.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Ottawa sets snowfall record as storm snarls commute Back to video

Some braved deep driveways, others navigated choked sidewalks, and many — including the youngster — had their transit rides extended considerably.

“This is unacceptable,” said Elena Lungu, Philip’s worried mother, told the Citizen before his arrival at 7:30 on Tuesday. “He’s a nine-year-old boy, all by himself, and he’s cold and hungry.

“I trusted OC Transpo to deliver my son in a reasonable time even with this storm.”

Philip was in good hands throughout the trip — his driver on route 97 parked the boy next to the door, and a fellow passenger lent his cellphone for calls to mom.

OC Transpo officials, meanwhile, expressed regret at the delays at the “challenging driving conditions.”