Megabus mix-up annoys Newcastle to London passengers
A coach with not enough seats for its passengers was delayed even further when its engine was left running and its battery went flat.
The Megabus arrived in Newcastle for the trip to London with three spare seats for the 18 customers. Passenger Ellie Lee said the driver "left the bus [ignition] on when he was trying to figure out what was happening and the battery stopped working". Megabus has been approached for comment. While the bus waited for a mechanic, staff asked an earlier coach that was already on its way to Leeds to turn and come back for the waiting passengers. Responding to customers on Twitter the company said there had been a "technical issue" with its 14:20 BST service and that it was running 90 minutes late. Ms Lee said they waited for more than an hour and "there was a lot of confusion and frustration". "Communication of what was happening could definitely have been better," she said. "I'm not entirely sure they would have told us the replacement bus was here if we hadn't spotted it across the road. "I understand the staff had a difficult job but, at times, they were clearly frustrated with us, when all we wanted to know was what was going on." With Newcastle passengers now going to London on the diverted Leeds bus, Ms Lee said the company "messed up again" when it took a wrong turn and missed the bus station in Leeds. "It's not their day, really," she said.