A cockroach infestation on a bus headed from Columbus to Detroit caused the driver to stop in a town in Ohio known as Delaware 20 minutes after departure to allow harried passengers to evacuate the bus and wait in a local fast food restaurant to await further instructions.
The activation of the heating system on the bus reportedly prompted activity by the cockroaches, which swarmed over virtually everything: the seats, the floor — and even on passengers.
“Greyhound eventually made the decision to get the passengers on another bus”, according to this article from WJBK-TV Fox 2 News in Detroit, which — as a warning if you are squeamish — includes a video of the infestation accompanying it. “But they had to drive the original bus back to Columbus first before getting on another bus and continuing their journey to Detroit.” Passengers arrived late — but safe — on the evening of Saturday night, January 16, 2015 at their intended destination.
A spokesperson for Greyhound reportedly attributed the situation to this particular bus possibly not having been “inspected properly” for a long time, according to the aforementioned report. An investigation of this incident may be pending by officials at Greyhound.
Passengers reportedly received both a full refund for the cost of the trip — as well as a voucher good for a free ride for a future trip on a bus operated by Greyhound Lines, Incorporated, which also operates BoltBus, YO! Bus, Greyhound Express, and Greyhound Connect.
Not the First Time Cockroaches Infested a Bus
This is apparently not the first time that cockroaches have infested a bus.
Passengers “freaked out” when the bus operated by Greyhound from Atlantic City to New York suffered from an infestation of cockroaches back on Friday, March 15, 2013, according to this article written by Shane Dixon Kavanaugh of the New York Daily News.
As with the first incident, the driver was forced to pull over to allow passengers to exit the bus after cockroaches “poured from air vents and dropped from the ceiling about 15 minutes after the bus left Atlantic City” at approximately 10:00 in the morning.
Full refunds were given to the 48 passengers on this trip as well.
Summary
I have never traveled as a passenger on a bus operated by Greyhound; but I have been a passenger on buses operated by Megabus and thankfully never experienced an encounter with insects — other than the occasional fly, I suppose. There were other issues which I experienced, however — such as this one.
Years ago, I was a passenger on an airplane which was experiencing mechanical difficulties at an airport which serves a city in the southeastern United States — resulting in irregular operations. While I was seated in the window seat awaiting the delayed departure, a cockroach crawled on the wall next to me. When I left my seat and alerted a member of the flight crew — who was chatting with a fellow member of the flight crew — she nonchalantly replied to me that “You must not be from the South” as “this happens regularly.”
I wonder how well that response would have been received by the passengers of the bus incidents — both of which happened in the northern United States.
Regardless, I might be a little more hesitant about traveling by bus in the future — and not just because the possibility of an infestation of cockroaches…
…but I would consider trying out a luxury bus service similar to this one…
Source: WJBK-TV Fox 2 News in Detroit.
