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Shawnna of New York, NY writes (12/2/01):
Travel from Scranton PA on Mertz bus with a friend on Sat Dec. 1st 10:30 am bus to NYC. The restroom facilities on the bus were not up to par on the way to Scranton or on the way back to NYC. On the way to Scranton the bus driver encouraged us to use the restrooms at the bus stops. We had a different driver on the way back to NYC. At the bus stop (Deleware Water Gap) some people asked to use the restroom and were told it was ok, my friend and I included. When it was my turn to use the restroom which I did vary quickly I heard my friend yelling to "hold on for a moment my friend's in the bathroom."
I ran out right away. When the bus driver saw us coming he shut the door. We ran up and knocked on the door but he began to pull away and he would not stop. All of our money and all of our belongings were on the bus.
We have witnesses who saw the whole thing and gave us their cards in case we needed witnesses. We were stuck in the mountains in Pennsylvania with nothing. The lady at the counter would not help us. we called the police who sent a state trooper to stop the bus but we didn't know the bus number and the lady at the Martz counter wouldn't even get on the phone to speak with the police.
The police came and then she spoke with them and the police told her to make sure we would get on the next bus no problem - free of charge. The police also contacted the bus driver's superviser who was very helpful and said that he would make sure that our belongings would be kept safe upon arriving in NYC. I'm sure he meant well but being a New Yorker I know how it is at the Port Authority and it wasn't very comforting. I also knew that no one could control what happened to our belongings while they were on the bus.
When the next bus came hours later and we were ready to board the bus she tried to hassle us and say that we needed receipts which of course we did not have but this bus driver already knew the situation and ignored her and let us on with no problem. We arrived in NY and our things were there and they were ok.
It was a waste of our day and I was late for my job at a hotel in NYC. I had no money to buy food or drinks the whole day or even to call people and my job to inform them of my whereabouts. Our money and things could have been stolen.
Jon of Oakton, VA, writes:
My high school concert band was taking its annual spring trip. We chose the Martz Transportation Group to transport over 300 members from Northern Virginia to Toronto, Canada. The bus company managed to turn a 12-hour trip into a complete nightmare.
Four buses broke down a total of seven times, and within the first fifteen minutes of our trip to Canada a bus was sparking and came close to catching on fire. At one point, one of the buses collapsed on its axle and began swerving uncontrollably on a rural highway. To make matters worse, the bus driver insisted the bus would be fine and suggested we keep going!
In addition, the air conditioning on one bus went out, raising the interior temperature to 85 or 90 degrees and making passengers sick. The trip was supposed to be 12 hours at most both ways, but the bus company got us to Canada in 16 hours (mostly due to an engine problem that delayed us for five hours), and it took us 19 hours to return home.
The bus company is only hurting itself. Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) issued a memo to all schools prohibiting the use of this bus company.
The trip certainly affected my classmates and me. The rest of the music department got back to the school at 7:00 that Sunday night, whereas the band returned around 2:00 AM. I was at school on time the next morning at 7:00, but I couldn't focus at all on schoolwork.
Students were beginning to get carsick from the unending and stressful trip. If I had spent one more hour on that hot and cramped bus, I would have lost my mind. Many students, including myself, have been discouraged from taking the annual trip, which usually goes very smoothly and is enjoyable. The Martz group never gave a genuine apology to the Oakton Bands, the band director, or the student body.
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