Bus Driver Checks Into Motel, Leaves Passengers in Parking Lot
A Greyhound bus driver left passengers in parking lot while he slept in a hotel. (Photo: Greyhound/Facebook)
Dozens of passengers were confused and angry after their bus driver left them in a parking lot so he could rest at a nearby motel.
The incident happened on Tuesday afternoon when the Denver-bound bus made a scheduled stop in Salina, Kansas at 4:20 p.m. According to passengers, the driver got out of the bus and checked into a La Quinta motel, leaving those on board concerned about the remainder of their trip.
“We haven’t seen the driver. We’re sitting here and sitting here. I had to keep the bus running because we have newborns and children… it’s getting cold,” one passenger told CBS4.
After sitting there for a few hours, some passengers called the bus company and police.
According to Greyhound, when the first driver parked the bus in Salina, he was officially done with a shift and released to get some sleep. A second driver was supposed to takeover after a 15 minute break, but he never arrived.
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“Because the driver that was scheduled to take over the trip from Salina to Denver was completing his mandatory rest hours due to his previous shift ending late, the schedule to Denver departed at 8 p.m.,” said Greyhound in a statement.
As for the first driver, he had no knowledge that the bus had been delayed until 6 p.m. That’s when when he returned to the bus to sit with the customers until the other driver arrived.
Greyhound apologized to the customers, saying they do “everything we can in instances like this to keep them comfortable and updated until the issue is resolved.”
They also said passengers had the option to keep warm in a nearby fast food restaurant while they waited for their trip to continue.
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