Abandoned Greyhound bus

[SurplusElect]

He was fired - did he actually quit or was he intending to return to drive another day? The driver is at fault 100% - no way of getting around that.

...you think he didn't know he would be getting fired? It was a rage quit - just like that airline steward that pulled the emergency exit, grabbed a beer and said "See ya" to the plane.

You are responsible for WHATEVER your staff does, and if you pay bunk wages for such a high stress job then expect this type of staff.

[Fancy]

Not if he was intending to drive again - haven't heard from the driver's perspective.

[Nooby]

I would imagine the company is more at fault here than the "bad driver".

Absolutely! As I said previously, I've never encountered a "bad driver" (I'm sure they do exist though), so obviously some of them enjoy what they do. In fact the last one I had coming from Calgary was extremely friendly, helpful (almost acting like a 'tour guide') and great sense of humor. I remember thinking - you couldn't pay me enough to drive through these mountain passes, let alone be that cheerful doing it.

[Fancy]

I would think this currently unemployed driver falls under the description of "bad employee".

[SurplusElect]

Absolutely! As I said previously, I've never encountered a "bad driver" (I'm sure they do exist though), so obviously some of them enjoy what they do. In fact the last one I had coming from Calgary was extremely friendly, helpful (almost acting like a 'tour guide') and great sense of humor. I remember thinking - you couldn't pay me enough to drive through these mountain passes, let alone be that cheerful doing it.

I think also some drivers have grandfathered wages, like some of the older workers at Safeway. They used to pay much better, but of course that ended.

Don't worry, there will be some temporary foreign workers who will gladly be responsible for the lives of women and children and have to kick drunks off the bus as they swing fists at you on the side of the TransCanada at 3am.

...for 17 a hour, lol.

[Nooby]

This can't be the very first time a relief driver was delayed.

Happened here on Christmas Day. Three young men left waiting because the driver called in sick. The depot here is open limited hours and apparently the motel next door refused to let them wait inside . A friend of a fourth passenger eventually drove all of them to Kamloops to get a connection there.

How does a company the size of Greyhound (and they've been in business forever) not have a system in place to adequately cover situations like this? - at the very least, a number you can call without going through major hoops to find out what's going on. I can sort of understand the situation where the weather/roads are so bad that a driver/bus can't get there, but with someone calling in sick, there should be procedures in place. Again, very poorly managed company.

Edit - I just saw a refuting comment from the motel mentioned above that says that 'story' was not at all true - they did in fact offer them coffee and a place to sit. Anyway - my beef is with Greyhound, not the motel - I was just relaying the story as it was first told. I guess you never know until you hear both sides!

[motorhomebabe]

What ever happened to Greyhound ? I rode them frequently In the 80s and 90s. Back then They put people in a a Taxi if they had overbooked , actually saw that happen. Just recently they are all over the news, cancelling routes ,Leaving people stranded. Buses burning , crashing. Why?

[theyeti]

they could use a few smarter passengers from the sounds of it . 4 hrs in the freezing cold cant close a door . just shocking probably would have froze to death if the driver never showed up

[Fancy]

Who said they were in the freezing bus for 4 hours? The office opened at 7.

[GordonH]

If I was on this bus, since I do know the area I'd asked the another passengers if a warm meal sounds good. Leave a note on the door of the Greyhound station (just in case we don't get back @ 7am) you will find passengers at Denny's Restaurant (all Denny's are 24Hr) and is about half a Km away.

Keep the receipt for the meal.

[LoneWolf_53]

Who said they were in the freezing bus for 4 hours? The office opened at 7.

In fairness the Castanet article did suggest that, though I have my doubts as to accuracy.

“The driver then left the bus; said he was done his shift or done his hours and he left the bus door open in the middle of the night. We were without a driver or any kind of security or anything for four hours.”

[Alvis]

What ever happened to Greyhound ? I rode them frequently In the 80s and 90s. Back then They put people in a a Taxi if they had overbooked , actually saw that happen. Just recently they are all over the news, cancelling routes ,Leaving people stranded. Buses burning , crashing. Why?

Cutting costs so the top managers get a bigger bonus and screw the customers. Next they will be deemed "unprofitable" and the company will be gutted. High labour costs and high taxes will be blamed despite the company still turning a profit. Vulture capitalism at its finest.
Mark my words: Greyhound's time is limited.

[theyeti]

bus service is essential just the shipping portion of the business should keep it running

[fvkasm2x]

One off or not, it defies logic, and common sense, to abandon a 200K vehicle loaded with strangers, with the keys in the ignition.

Talk about a liability nightmare had something happened.

This was my thought as well. That guy would have been SCREWED if someone took off with that thing and did some damage.

[theyeti]

i dont think he woulda been in trouble . his shift was over . greyhound would have been to blame . or maybe whoever stole the bus so to speak.

i agree with the above poster who said this driver created a media relations nightmare for greyhound motor coach . almost like he planned it out ...