Greyhound Driver Stops At Motel To Rest With Bus Full Of Passengers (left 'em clueless, stranded)

CBS Denver ^ | 1/5/2016 | Staff

[simpson96]

DENVER (CBS4)- A Greyhound bus bound for Denver made a pit stop at a motel in Kansas so the driver could rest. The catch - the passengers on board had no idea where he was going or for how long.

The driver left dozens of passengers stranded on the bus for hours outside the La Quinta motel in Salina, Kan. while he went inside to catch up on some sleep.

The bus pulled into the motel late Tuesday afternoon. The driver got off without telling anyone where he was going.

Passengers initially thought it was going to be a quick stop but when the driver didn't come back, they called both the bus company and police.

"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," said one passenger.

Greyhound said the driver had to finish his federally-regulated rest hours. The company also said the passengers could have waited inside a fast food restaurant to keep warm.

[Vigilanteman]

The should be happy that one of the weird passengers didn't decide to behead another one with a knife. This is actually what happened on a Greyhound bus near Winnipeg some years ago. There were two weird things I recall about the story:

1. The other passengers got off and held the door shut so the perp didn't escape. Neither could the victim, for that matter either, but it was too late by then anyway.
   
2. The perp was NOT a member of the Religion of Peace. Just some crazy a$$ed druggie.

Not all bus routes are that crazy. There is a couple of busses per day which run between Scranton, PA and Pittsburgh via our town and State College, PA. The vast majority of passengers are Penn State Students just coming home/returning for a weekend. Or Pittsburgh area college students going east.

[NonValueAdded]

Hey, exceeding his hours is a very big deal. That said, not informing the passengers was pretty stupid.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

I can’t believe this. Good Lord provide a relief driver if the primary driver must take off.

[Autonomous User]

Ride the Hound. Just another airplane without wings!

[Buckeye McFrog]

Check out these guys. New clean buses with WiFi, and nobody has to wait around in dingy terminals filled with criminals.

http://us.megabus.com/

[Psalm 144]

“Wow! So glad my Greyhound days are over.”

Mine too. I remember shift/driver changes taking place very quietly and efficiently, but that was back in America, and I rode Trailways which was a much better company.

[xrmusn]

As long as the Government ‘regulates’ these things, why be surprised.
Next will be when they hire muzzies and there are ‘Prayer stops’, baggage checked for ‘offensive material’.

Things are so ‘out of control’ that the Greyhound spokesperson can make such an inane statement.

Yes, better the driver ‘rest’ than run off the road but at least do a little ‘planning’ -

Again, the minds of the people who think this is a perfectly good way to ‘run a railroad’ have to be changed if any real improvements to be made.

[Fresh Wind]

This reminds me of an old song Chuck Berry used to sing...

I left my home in Norfolk Virginia
California on my mind
I straddled that Greyhound
And rode it into Raleigh and on across Caroline

We had motor trouble that turned into a struggle
Halfway across Alabam
And the hound broke down and left us all stranded
In downtown Birmingham

[Blood of Tyrants]

My daughter is taking a school trip from Tennessee to Disney World this spring. They are traveling by buss and it is scheduled to take then 19 hours for a 10 hour trip because of federally mandated driver rest stops.

[lacrew]

I recently rode one for the first time. There were actually a lot of soldiers on my bus, and at every station we stopped at. They were privates and in uniform - I think their first leave after basic or something like that.

And a lot of people on their way home from prison - I think they get a bus ticket on their way out. The first guy I talked to had just gotten out.

Actually no illegals that I could tell. At one station, a guy was drunk or stoned, and Greyhound called police in a nanosecond. So I think the prevalence of police may keep them away.

[TYVets]

and get a free bus ticket to any destination they want

Plus a cot, air mattress and a sleeping bag

[lacrew]

I recently tried Greyhound for the first time. Yes, quite lot of ‘colorful’ people. They switched bus drivers a lot, and one bus driver got on, and asked if we wanted to watch a movie...and rattled off the titles of several movies that were still in the theater. I asked how he could have those - his response “I’m from the hood”. So, the entire bus watched a bootleg movie.

Then he started bragging about a bootleg cigarette scheme he ran, buying in lower tax Iowa, and selling to Minnesota...using the Greyhound bus as his mule to move bulk product. He said it was the only reason he worked for Greyhoud, since his route allowed him to work his cigarette business so well.

Interesting trip.

[ErnBatavia]

Six or so years ago, wifey and I planned to overnight in Salina - at the time, we were both still smokers and found that Salina has an ordnance that all lodging is no smoking....that was a first in our traveling experience.

We saddled up and drove north to Concordia - which was a prettier little town anyway.

[smalltownslick]

Maybe he wasn’t the primary driver. Had to take over for someone who didn’t show up, which would put him over his legal hours. Still, all he had to do was tell the people.

[crz]

I agree. I often go that way to the U.P since that way, I dont have to go through St Louie or KC. I hate going through both those cities, and I hate going through Ill.

[hanamizu]

Rode a long-haul bus in Mexico— Chihuahuaences. Logo looked like a greyhound, but was a rabbit. Had a stewardess and two drivers. One slept in the luggage compartment. After a few hours he got back on and sat in the front seat. When it was time to change drivers, they didn’t stop, just did it while the bus was moving. Also they didn’t use their headlights at night. Didn’t sleep much on that trip.

[ErnBatavia]

I regularly took Grehound from Camp Pendleton to L.A.when in the Marine Corps almost 50 years ago....I remember one driver laughingly telling me about how many "boots" would salute him; back then, the drivers wore Greyhound uniforms and brim hats.

Newbies were ingrained with "if in doubt - salute it".

[Psalm 144]

Man, I remember seeing one of those! The bus looked like it had been through a war. I didn’t know the inside was much the same. Sounds like a fun trip.

[PLMerite]

They've got new shiny ones now.

[sphinx]

My thought as well. Had Greyhound apologized and explained that a relief driver didn’t show up as planned, one could understand. (That still would not justify the driver disappearing without an explanation.) But Greyhound’s answer passeth understanding.