My partner and I were among a group of passengers left stranded for 90 minutes on a motorway hard shoulder after our coach driver was arrested for suspected drug driving. We had boarded the Cambridge to Brighton Flixbus service at Gatwick. The coach was an hour late, was visibly damaged on the outside and the driver set off without closing the luggage hatch.
Other passengers observed him driving with his eyes closed, and police pulled him over on the M23 because of erratic driving. He was tested at the roadside and detained on suspicion of driving while under the influence. The police asked Flixbus to source an alternative driver, but to no avail.
The 90-minute wait was terrifying with lorries swerving past. Eventually, the police drove us to a service station on the outskirts of Brighton and we had to make our own way into the city. We had been due to move into our new rental flat that day, but because of the delay we arrived after the self-storage depot, where our belongings were, had closed and had to spend £100 on sleeping bags and essentials for the night.
Flixbus agents told us that compensation was not possible as we had “checked in” for the journey. After a series of complaints, it refunded the ticket price and our expenses minus £30, which it claimed were bank fees. I had to complain again to get this missing sum and this time £5 was deducted.
Flixbus has ignored our repeated requests for compensation to reflect the severity of the incident. TBS, Brighton This was a terrifying ordeal. You have autism and ADHD and told me that the fear, unpredictability and the sensory overload as traffic shaved past the stationary coach, caused you extreme distress.
You reported the incident as it unfolded via Flixbus’s live chat, which is evidently not programmed to address alleged driving offences, as it kept reassuring you that the company aims to offer a safe and reliable experience. Its reasoning was that since you had boarded the bus there was no case for compensation. When you complained by email, Flixbus referred to the incident as “disruption”, as though the issue was heavy traffic.
I asked Flixbus how it monitors drivers’ fitness to take the wheel; why another driver was not dispatched to relay you onwards; and why it had ignored your requests for compensation. It did not answer the first questions and claimed that it could not offer compensation for the “distress and inconvenience”. However, it was suddenly prepared to stump up £100 in what it termed “goodwill”.
It has also paid you the missing fiver. It says: “The safety of our passengers is our highest priority, and we have a strict zero-tolerance policy regarding alcohol, substance abuse and dangerous driving. We launched an urgent investigation into the incident with the coach operator and we are grateful to police who escorted passengers on their way.” We welcome letters but cannot answer individually.
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Source: The Guardian
