My Worst Trip Ever - Greyhound

As a regular patron of Greyhound, I was beyond dismayed and disappointed by the service which I received when I traveled from Bellville to Ladysmith on Friday, 14 December 2018. First and foremost, when I booked my ticket online, I was informed that I was booking a ticket for a Greyhound Dreamliner, which is the Coach that I always travel with. To my surprise, I received an SMS shortly before our departure time informing me that I should expect a Comfortliner bus, which is of an inferior quality. I paid for the Dreamliner because it affords me the comfort that I have come to know and experience from Greyhound, so you can imagine my disappointment when I saw the latter bus.

The Comfortliner bus arrived much later than the scheduled departure time, which one could say is understandable due to heavy traffic during the festive season. Upon boarding the bus, I discovered that is was filthy - the floors, seats, windows and curtains were in dire need of a proper clean. The seats could not recline, therefore one could not even rest properly throughout the trip. This made for an extremely uncomfortable journey. One could convincingly argue that the bus had not been used for a very long time prior to our trip. The bus then proceeded to shut of at an incline, in an intersection. Fortunately, the quick thinking of the driver avoided what would have been a terrible accident

We noticed that water was dripping from the panels near the air conditioner vent. This is near an electric socket where one of the passenger's phone was charged - fortunately due to their vigilance their property was saved. Upon requesting that the air conditioner be switched on due to the scorching heat, we were informed that the air conditioner was broken and needed to be fixed - this resulted in an almost two-hour stop in Worcester, which further delayed our trip. The wait in Worcester was in vain as the air con was never fixed and this meant that we had to endure the unbearable heat inside the bus.

The whole trip was rather chaotic. Upon boarding the bus, I was told to sit wherever I wanted to sit - despite the fact that I had been assigned a particular seat by the system. There was no host or hostess and there were no refreshments - which is something that sets Greyhound apart and makes for a comfortable trip worth every cent. The toilet left nothing to be desired. The bus was scheduled to arrive in Ladysmith at 06:45AM and I had made the necessary transport arrangements. We only arrived in Ladysmith after 11:0AM, more than 4 hours later. This was not only a massive inconvenience for me, but for the individual I had organised to fetch me at the Caltex Garage.

This Comfortliner bus and the entire trip honestly reminded me of my school days when we went on school trips. It honestly did not live up to the Greyhound standard I have come to know and love. I could write a series of reviews on the issues I experienced, but believe that the above review captures my general experience.

I am returning to the Western Cape on the 30th of December and am honestly scared that I will have the same or a similar experience.