NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — After FOX 17 News first showed you this video of stranded bus passengers at a gas station in Jackson, Tennessee, people have reached out to us with similar stories with Greyhound across the country.
On Thursday, transportation experts tell FOX 17 News what they believe is to blame.
Nancy Deiters was traveling from Hinesville, Georgia to Kissimmee, Florida on Monday and says her bus was loading up in a gas station parking lot.
“When I was trying to load my bags onto the bus, the bus driver was very rude and mean and yelled at me,” Deiters explained.
Deiters says the bus driver did not let her on because of an argument.
“I was crying, I was scared, you know I’m not from there,” Deiters emphasized.
She says she was left at a gas station in the middle of rural Georgia.
This is just one of many horror stories that FOX 17 News is digging into.
FOX 17 News has reached out to Greyhound every day this week for answers, but we have not heard back yet.
A transportation expert who wishes to remain anonymous says Greyhound was sold to a German company called FlixBus.
The expert says Flix did not buy any of the bus terminals from the former owners, FirstGroup, so he says then they were given 30 days’ notice to find other locations for a bus station since they were selling those properties.
“Things are happening so quickly. The drivers have not had the opportunity to be trained on where a bus stop actually is and, in many cases, maybe that bus stop is changing maybe two to three times in a few months period,” the transportation expert said.
They explain this is causing chaos.
“Where they left a beautiful terminal in Knoxville and they moved to a gas station which was not open at night, so people are being dropped off in the middle of the night at a closed gas station,” the expert emphasized.
They say the city of Knoxville shut this down.
A transportation professor at DePaul University says it’s becoming a trend.
“The last thing you want is bus lines just moving to a curb where there’s no facilities. Unfortunately, we’re seeing that in some cities,” Dr. Joe Schwieterman explained.
Some of the cities that are expanding their terminals are doing great including Atlanta, Boston, and New York City.
Dr. Schwieterman says this is because these stations have support from the state and city.
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