Bus Mistakenly Shuttles Passengers 10 Miles in Wrong Direction to Similarly Named Destination

Bus Mistakenly Shuttles Passengers 10 Miles in Wrong Direction to Similarly Named Destination https://ift.tt/tqMITUH

Riders had to step in with GPS after a shuttle bus driver took back roads and the wrong highway during an MBTA train suspension in Boston

Passengers load onto a MBTA shuttle bus on Aug. 20.
Credit: CBS Boston/Youtube

NEED TO KNOW

• A shuttle bus driver mistakenly took Boston-area commuters 10 miles in the wrong direction while providing alternative service during a subway train closure
• Passengers said the driver was unfamiliar with the city and relied on GPS and riders for directions
• The MBTA apologized and confirmed the driver is no longer working on the shuttle service

Already facing a temporary subway train line closure, Boston-area commuters were met with an even further delay after a shuttle bus driver took them to the wrong location — about 10 miles in the opposite direction.

The mishap occurred the morning of Thursday, Aug. 20, the same day the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)  began its 11-day suspension of its Orange Line trains for track and signal improvements. To accommodate daily commuters, the transportation authority enlisted the help of local shuttle bus vendors to offer transportation between Oak Grove and North Station, per a press release. 

One of the express shuttle buses was supposed to take riders from Wellington Station in Medford, Mass., to North Station in Boston. However, it ended up heading in the direction toward Stoneham on Massachusetts’ North Shore. 

“I was hoping it would be a good commute. It turned out to be one of the worst ones that I’ve ever seen in my life,” passenger Yaseen Sajjad told CBS Boston. 

Commuters told the outlet they started getting worried when the driver took back roads and then got on Interstate 93 north. 

“One of the passengers yelled ‘It’s 135 Causeway Street.’ While he’s driving on the highway he’s putting it on his GPS,” Sajjad added.

Alex Rodde says he stepped in to help give the driver directions, but learned some shocking information in the process. “He explains to us he’s never been to Boston, like in his life, and he is driving this bus for the first time,” Rodde claimed. “And I was a little nervous about it because I was like, ‘Okay well, if I’m being relied upon for instructions, I should probably give good ones, and I did my best and I think we got where we were going to go.” 

But the issues didn’t end there: “He’s not using the HOV lanes, he’s not using the bus lanes… We keep having to direct him and it’s to a point where it’s absolutely ridiculous. For all of us who had to deal with that, it was a little ridiculous,” Eamon Marchant told WCVB. 

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the MBTA said the authority “apologizes to these shuttle bus passengers for this inconvenience. The matter has been addressed with the shuttle bus vendor, and the driver of this shuttle is no longer working on this service.”

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MBTA did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request regarding which vendor operated the bus in question. 

“I mean, with the MBTA, nothing surprises me,” Boston commuter Nick Caruso told WCVB. “I can totally see that happening.”