Nightmarish Xmas bus trip

Photo: Getty Images

Instead of getting home by plane from Kelowna on Christmas Eve, a young woman and her partner got a nightmare journey on a Greyhound bus. It also caused Christmas Day inconvenience and expense for Annie Hemming's dad, Robert.

The couple had taken the bus from Revelstoke after a visit and were on their way to Kelowna to catch a flight back to their residence in Nanaimo when the driver got a call from dispatch that made him turn the bus around near Armstrong, Hemming said.

“Apparently, there were some people who missed the bus in Salmon Arm, but I don't know how. It was very late leaving Revelstoke,” Hemming said.

At that point, things fell apart.

“(The driver) turned the wrong way on the highway, he drove past Enderby and had to turn around. There was some dangerous driving. I don't think you should turn a bus around on the highway. I hear he was also talking on his phone while driving. Isn't that illegal in B.C.?”

Hemming said his daughter was distraught.

“Other passengers were upset, too. I hear some had their head in their hands, they were angry.”

Hemming said his daughter made the right decision to get off the bus in Enderby with a handful of other passengers even though shops had closed early and her cellphone had run out of power.

Although he couldn't name it, a local establishment that had shut down for the holiday opened its doors to allow people to come in, warm up and make calls. Through that, the couple were able to find a hotel room.

“There was some Christmas spirit in Enderby.”

But with no taxi service in the small community, it was left to Hemming to ride to the rescue of his daughter on Christmas Day.

At 8 a.m. on Dec. 25, he left Revelstoke to make the drive to Enderby, pick up the couple and take them to Kelowna airport for another flight back to Nanaimo.

“There didn't seem to be any option. I couldn't get hold of anyone from Greyhound. I got back in time for Christmas dinner.”

Hemming has not heard from Greyhound despite a number of calls made on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

He has filled in a complaint on Greyhound's customer service page, which states a reply could take 7-14 days and is asking the company to reimburse his expenses, including those incurred on behalf of his daughter.