One frustrated traveler started an online petition following a miserable overnight trip on a Greyhound bus from Minneapolis to Bloomington, Illinois.
Arthur Singh's ticket, which left at midnight, included a five-hour layover in Des Moines, Iowa, from 4 a.m. until 9 a.m., Yahoo Travel reported.
Even though the itinerary wasn't the most pleasant, the college freshman booked his trip anyway, assuming that he could nap or read at the station until his morning connection arrived.
But it wasn't so easy. Once Singh arrived as Des Moines, he found out that the bus station didn't open until 5 a.m., which meant he and the other passengers had to wait outside for a frigid hour. On Feb. 1, the day he took the trip, the low temperature was 6 below zero in Des Moines, and Singh said the wind chill factor made it seem even colder.
In his Change.org petition, he wrote "Everyone layered on all of the clothes they had with them and huddled for warmth -- they even wrapped T-shirts around their heads to keep their ears from going numb."
Singh is a frequent Greyhound traveler, and he told Yahoo Travel that his previous experiences with the bus company were "good." "This was the one instance where they messed up," he added.
When Singh spoke to Greyhound representatives, he found out that the Iowa bus station was operated by a partner carrier called Jefferson Lines. But this was no consolation for him.
"I had bought my ticket from Greyhound. I expected I would be taking care of all the way through and I would be taken care of by them," he told Yahoo Travel. But he wasn't Singh added.
The petition gathered hundreds of comments from other travelers who said they were stranded at a closed bus station, Yahoo Travel reported. (The petition appears to be taken down now.)
Rickey Smith from New York City wrote, "Greyhound did the same thing to me at a Layover in Oh on a bus from Detroit to Fort Wayne IN and I remember being unprepared for this and freezing! They really need to change this! At the very least warn passengers that they might have a layover and be locked outside of the station for hours."
Neil Griffith from Kingston, Canada, offered a plain and simple statement: "People need shelter, does this really have to be explained?"
Greyhound spokesperson Maureen Richmond told Yahoo Travel in a statement:
"Greyhound has not operated in Des Moines since August 2012, and the location is currently served by an interline carrier that sets the hours at its agencies. The use of an interline carrier is noted when a ticket is purchased, as well as on the ticket.
Greyhound terminals and agencies are open when buses are scheduled to arrive or depart.
We will work with the interline carriers to help ensure their hours are consistent with the scheduled arrivals and departures. In addition, we had the opportunity to speak directly with the petitioner and change.org on Tuesday to better understand the situation and offer assistance.
The safety and security of all motor coach passengers is a priority for us and we sincerely apologize for this inconvenience."
Singh told Yahoo that he is satisfied with Greyhound's response so far, but he hopes the line will also address similar nationwide problems.
"All of the signers and commenters on my petition make it clear that this isn't just a problem in one station -- it's a problem across the nation," he told Yahoo Travel. "The bottom line is that travelers stuck out in the cold aren't worried about who owns a station, they're worried about their health and their safety, and Greyhound and all of its partner carriers need to act to fix this problem."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
