Greyhound passengers stranded outside Chilliwack station for hours on Christmas

People who waited outside a locked Greyhound station for nearly three hours on Christmas Day – without any information when their bus would arrive – are criticizing the company for their lack of communication.

“I would like some answers,” said Robin Low, one of about 15 people who bought a ticket from Chilliwack to Vancouver for a bus that was scheduled to depart around 3:30 p.m.

But the station was locked, there was no signs to help customers, and no bus arrived. By 5 p.m., she was able to get her mother’s car and drive to Vancouver with a few other passengers.

“When you take the Greyhound on holidays, you think it might be delayed, but the fact it never showed up was surprising.”

Greyhound spokesperson Lanesha Gipson says the bus eventually arrived at 6 p.m., delayed due to a mechanical issue in Hope. She says that while the lack of information at the Chilliwack station was unfortunate, it’s not actually owned by Greyhound.

“It’s an agency owned by a third party…so that particular agency was closed on Christmas Day,” she said.

“Because they’re not locations owned by Greyhound, they sometimes have different hours…As far as the station being closed and letting them know about the delay, there’s not much we could do.”

Gipson said the station was owned by Dave Clark Ltd, and said Greyhound apologizes if there were no signs to guide customers to help lines.

While Gipson says people waiting for buses should contact Greyhound by phone, Robin’s mom Jennifer said they did and only got a voice message saying it was delayed, with no estimated time of arrival.

“We couldn’t get to a human being at all…There were several people left standing alone. It was getting dark, the bus depot was locked, and nobody knew what was going on at all. I felt very sad for the people standing at the bus stop. If they had just been told, I think it would have made things better for them.”

Robin is hoping for a refund.

“I’m hoping that at least I’ll get my money back. I’m a student and I don’t expect to have unforeseen expenses, like paying for gas from Chilliwack to Vancouver on Christmas.”

Gipson said anyone affected by the delay can apply for a refund at 877-463-6446, but couldn’t say whether it would be approved.