Budget bus passengers stranded

The UK’s newest budget bus company has come under fire after passengers were stranded for hours with no heating or toilets. According to a full-page report in today’s Daily Mail, the Megabus journey from London to Brighton was scheduled to take just to hours and 20 minutes, but the passengers did not reach their destination for some seven hours after being rescued by a National Express coach and then being forced to catch a train that finally arrived at 1.30am. One passenger reportedly told the newspaper that the bus broke down after 10 minutes, and then once again about an hour later. She is reported as saying: “We were stuck in the middle of a motorway with no help and no back-up. There was no heating, no loos and it was freezing cold. It was extremely dangerous; someone could have been killed.” As reported by News From Abroad, Megabus was launched by Stagecoach this month, advertising fares as low as GBP1 each way. A spokesman reportedly said that passengers would have their fares refunded and they would also be sent £10, adding: “We are deeply upset about what happened and have apologised to all our passengers. It took far longer than expected to send a replacement bus. We are therefore reviewing our back-up procedures to respond more effectively in future.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad