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Comments (14)
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Save/ShareBudget Travel has talked a lot about Megabus in the past year. The company (which provides city-to-city coach service in the Midwest and Northeast and some parts of the West Coast, and we gave it an Extra Mile Award for its innovations: 1) keeping its fares extremely low; 2) doing pickups and drop-offs in the centers of cities rather than at terminals; 3) equipping its double-decker fleet with free Wi-Fi, video screens, headsets, and seat belts. 4) offering alerts by cell phone in case of delays.
This weekend, I took my first Megabus trip, and was, for the most part, delighted with it. The tickets were cheap ($20 each way between New York and Washington, D.C.), the comfy, double-decker bus was squeaky clean, and we arrived in DC more or less on time. There was one crazy mishap, though, and I’m dying to hear what BudgetTravel.com readers have to say about it.
The bus made a stop just outside of New York, where a new driver replaced the original one, and another stop in Baltimore, where 17 people boarded. About 10 minutes after we left Baltimore, a few people started making noise about how we were heading in the wrong direction. The driver assured them that we were going to DC—at which point the Baltimore passengers realized they were on the wrong bus. Apparently, the digital sign on the outside of the bus read "New York," so they assumed the bus was going to New York. Our driver didn’t know this—remember, he had replaced another driver in the beginning of the trip and probably just assumed the sign was correct.
Right away, the driver called the Megabus dispatcher to see how he could help the Baltimore passengers, and the dispatcher told him to keep going to D.C. Throughout the process, the Baltimore passengers grew more and more irate. They were yelling at the driver, demanding that he make the next bus out of D.C. wait for them, threatening to sue Megabus, and so on. A few of them called Megabus on their cell phones to yell some more (one man screamed to the Megabus operator that he and 16 others were being hijacked). It was ugly.
At first I wasn’t sure who was at fault. Sure, the bus should have had the correct destination on the sign, but as a passenger, I can never imagine getting on a bus without verifying that it was going where I needed to go. Now, though, I’m pretty sure Megabus is responsible.
I called Megabus yesterday to find out how they handled it. They put the Baltimore passengers on a bus that left a little after 4 p.m., and issued full refunds.
So my question is this: What should Megabus have done for these passengers? Turned around and gone back to Baltimore (which would have made the D.C. passengers late)? Forced the next bus out of D.C. to wait for us to arrive so these passengers could get on (this would have made that bus late getting to New York)? Given the passengers full refunds? More?
EARLIER
The long-haul bus trip from hell
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MegaBus should have checked tickets?
Posted By Iolaire McFadden on October 10, 2008, 12:04 PM
Megabus should have given those passengers the option to get off the bus at that point plus refunds.
Posted By Lili on October 10, 2008, 1:17 PM
Ultimately, the blame lies with the passengers for not double checking their tickets. Errors will always occur and as a passenger on many flights and bus trips, I live in NYC and travel to Boston, DC, and Philly all the time, if there's one thing you've got to accept is that errors will occur.
They did the right thing by heading to DC first. Truth is the bus going to DC should not be delayed and the bus going to NYC from DC should not be delayed either for passengers that didn't make certain they were on the right bus.
Megabus should have sent another bus to meet them somewhere between NYC and DC since they're to blame just as much as the passengers.
Posted By michael on October 12, 2008, 6:42 PM
I traveled on the Megabus and had an awful experience...the bus left an hour and a half early from Minneapolis and had to come back to get us. Then, the bus broke down an hour and a half from our destination in Wisconsin, and we were told we would have to sit and wait for three hours while they sent a bus from Chicago. In addition, when we called and requested a refund, several staff members told us that "Refunds are not their policy".
Posted By Sarah on October 13, 2008, 12:20 PM
I agree with Michael. Whenever possible you should always blame the customer. Certainly Megabus had no responsibility to ensure that the destination sign on the bus was accurate or to check the tickets of the passengers to ensure that they were on the correct bus.
Posted By Pete Holt on October 13, 2008, 1:06 PM
it is bizarre that the driver didn't check the passengers' tickets. How can they be sure the passengers even have tickets if they don't check them. Could I just stand at their stop and get on the bus and ride for free?
Posted By Glenn on October 13, 2008, 2:11 PM
Maybe Megabus should institute a new policy, much like airlines, when new passengers board the bus, the operator anounces the destination, etc.
Posted By Rick on October 13, 2008, 2:18 PM
It seems obvious that Megabus should display the correct destination on the outside of the bus, & just as obvious that someone should check the tickets as the passengers get on the bus. But since neither happened in this situation, it seems simple enough that with Megabus having buses going in both directions, they should pass each other at some point....& should both stop & let the NY bound passengers switch to the NY bound bus.
Posted By David on October 13, 2008, 7:04 PM
For 16 people to get on the bus, it was not just a minor mistake. The driver should have pulled over and dispatch should have sent another bus (or van) to pick up the passengers and return them to the station. The driver and the pick-up station were at fault, really due to miscommunication to the passengers. Since the passengers realized the error soon into the trip, it was not necessary for the driver to continue non-stop to DC. It was not as though only one or two people realized they were on the wrong bus... The situation was poorly handled from the beginning. If I had tickets to a Broadway show that I was going to miss because of a lack of communication, I'd want more than a refund....
Posted By Laura on October 13, 2008, 11:07 PM
16 people and no one asked the driver, here again we blame the Megabus, or the driver. Come on people lets put the blame on the 16 people who could not ask a simple question. Is this bus going ...... Why is it today we are always putting the blame on someone else and not on the person or people who should get the blame. come on they shouted that they were being kidnapped get real.My feeling they should of been kicked off.
Posted By JJ on October 14, 2008, 11:56 AM
Another thing that Megabus (and its contractors) should do is to require that the sign be correct BEFORE leaving the original destination...and someone in Elizabeth dropped the ball indeed if the bus changed drivers en route.
Posted By Adam on October 14, 2008, 11:48 PM
An addendum (mod, please merge this with my prior comment). I blame the driver here fully, re-reading the article. A bus from NYC is only supposed to drop off customers at White Marsh Mall. That driver had no business taking on ANYONE in Baltimore. What was (s)he thinking?
That the sign was incorrect isn't relevant here. The driver is simply not supposed to allow anyone on board at that stop, and tell people that this isn't a NYC bus. (Other stops with this restriction include Ann Arbor, where one cannot board a Detroit-bound bus, and Binghamton, where one cannot board a NYC-bound bus, the latter because of noncompete clauses.)
Posted By Adam on October 14, 2008, 11:51 PM
Sure, meeting a New York bound bus en-route makes sense . . . until you realize that they are probably on Interstate 95. They'd have to arrange a meeting point at some exit along the way. The problem is neither the drivers nor dispatchers are going to be familiar with the exits and it might well be unsafe. So then you'd be wandering around the suburbs, half-lost, looking for some place where two buses could safely stop. How long would that take? Plus it would take awhile to either dispatch a bus from Washington (perhaps it was actually quicker to just keep driving to DC) or wait for the time that the next bus was scheduled to leave (that could also be longer than just driving to Washington). Remember it's not long between DC and Baltimore.
I'll bet this is the last time this driver forgets to check tickets and destination sign!
But this also suggests poor training.
Posted By Christopher on October 17, 2008, 3:21 PM
I've ridden megabus several times, and my name and confirmation number is always checked and crossed off a list. In smaller cities (like Ann Arbor where I start) the bus driver has always done the check, so I know I'm getting on the right bus. In addition, only one bus runs from Ann Arbor and it only goes to Chicago, so I'm safe! In Chicago, however, LOTS of megabuses converge and go in all directions. There, a megabus employee, but not necessarily the bus driver, checks off names. When I board the bus, I always ask to check that it's going to Ann Arbor. I don't rely on the sign because sometimes it still says Chicago as I board or it may only say Detroit (not Ann Arbor). In any case, I figure it's in my own best interest to verify the bus I'm riding is the correct one. People who are loud and unruly and accept no personal responsibility are out of order and make the trip unpleasant for everyone. Yes, they were owed an apology and a refund, but the bus driver can only do as instructed by HQ.
Posted By Monica on October 21, 2008, 3:15 PM