Normally, White River is a 15-minute stop on the Greyhound route.
On Sunday, the northern Ontario town was a 14-hour purgatory for two busloads of travellers.
They were headed west on the TransCanada Highway when they stopped at the Husky station at 3:30 a.m. Normally, it’s a coffee break and pit stop that allows for a driver change.
Patrick Moran, on his way to Fort McMurray, Alta., from Grimsby, remembers his driver’s words as he stepped off the bus: “The roads are closed, sit tight.â€
Then, nothing. The driver left his passengers to go sleep at a local motel. No replacement driver arrived.
“They abandoned us,†said Moran, 19. “They didn’t say another word to us until 1 p.m.â€
Inside Moran’s sold-out bus, the passengers figured out how to open the door and adjust the heat. A few hours later, they noticed snow plows and cars on the roads. People were hungry, one woman had diabetes, and several passengers had very little money. Perfume couldn’t cover the smells wafting from the bathroom. One persistent rumour circulated as to the delay: the roads were fine but the driver had logged too many hours.
On Monday, a Greyhound spokesman said the delays were purely weather related.
The riders spent the day at the gas station and doughnut shop, while loved ones at home tried to contact Greyhound.
On the other bus, the driver gave updates when he had them: the roads were open but now they had to wait for buses from Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie, and separate road closures were causing more delays.
By the time those buses arrived, carrying replacement drivers, it was 4:30 p.m. The delayed travellers pulled out of White River at 5:30 p.m. with the new drivers at the helm.
Passengers understood the weather issues, but were frustrated by the lack of communication.
“If you’re not going to accommodate us at least say there’s a motel here. We were just left there,†said Lauriann Keane, travelling to Edmonton.
Angelo Bazzoni, who owns the local gas station and doubles as mayor, said the weather plays tricks north of Lake Superior, and delays are normal when the roads are hazardous.
“They see the snow here and think it might be driveable, but 15 kilometres down the road it’s closed,†he said
Although Bazzoni served up coffee, a local media report claimed he failed to don his other hat: mayor of White River.
“There was no real need to say, ‘Hey, I’m the mayor, welcome to town,’ †Bazzoni said when reached at the gas station on Monday.
The passengers paid for their meals but were offered free Internet and outlets for their laptops, he explained. He added the town has an emergency plan and it would have been implemented if the bus was delayed further.
“It was just unfortunate,†he said.
Timothy Stokes, Greyhound spokesman, apologized for the delay on Monday.
“When we were able to resume, we created new schedules to take them right to their stops,†he said
When told that Moran faced a seven- hour delay in Edmonton since he missed his transfer, Stokes said he would look into it.
Stokes said management would discuss potential compensation, but had no details.
He said Greyhound tries to “accommodate as best we can†when large delays occur. He was not sure why guests weren’t put up in a White River motel and said the matter was being investigated.
Now transferred to a different bus travelling west from Winnipeg on Monday, customers anticipated they’d be a day late. Some vowed it would be their last trip on a Greyhound.
Keane, who decided to take the bus across Canada for the adventure, had one positive thing to say as Moran’s cellphon was being passed around.
“I got to meet a lot of cool people,†she said.
