Get Marty: Local Woman Demands Refund After Getting Stranded By Greyhound
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A gas station in a remote corner of Ohio holds nothing but bad memories for some travelers.
It's where Greyhound Buses have been leaving them stranded.
When it happened to a local woman, she wanted more than just an apology. But when she couldn't even get that, she knew it was time to call for help and she decided to "Get Marty."
"It was a very bad experience," said Verna Murphy, of Pittsburgh
Verna's journey started in Atlanta in June. She was there to see her daughter's newborn baby.
Verna flew down and was supposed to catch a Greyhound Bus back to Pittsburgh. Instead, she ended up stuck at a picnic bench bus stop in Cambridge, Ohio.
That's because her Ohio to Pittsburgh bus never came. She was dropped off at noon, and told a Greyhound bus would arrive to take her to Columbus nine hours later. She says she was stranded.
"On the side of the road, at a gas station, pouring down rain," she said.
Even if she got to Columbus, Verna still had to get to Pittsburgh, turning a planned 14-hour bus trip into what could have been a much longer journey.
"Would have been more than 24 hours," she said.
Turns out, this has happened before. A man, who doesn't wish to be identified, works at the gas station where Verna was stuck.
"Worst case scenario, we'll take them down to the local police station, they can stay there," he said.
So, the stranded travelers sleep at the local jail. That wasn't going to work for Verna.
"My friend came and got me and picked me up," she said.
Her friends drove more than four hours round-trip to get her back to Munhall.
"I would like a full refund," Verna says.
She wrote this letter to Greyhound over a month ago, heard nothing. Then, she called KDKA.
She wants a refund and an apology. KDKA's Marty Griffin reached out to Greyhound and they agreed. They ended up giving her both.
Griffin: "You folks at Greyhound certainly don't want folks on this all day, all night journey."
"No, absolutely not. We apologize to Ms. Murphy, the inconvenience it caused her," said Lanesha Gipson, of Greyhound Lines, Inc. "Our management team has spoken with Ms. Murphy and has offered her a full refund for travel expenses."
Greyhound is also taking a look at procedure, how anyone could get stranded or have to wait an extended period of time.
The day we were there in Ohio, we found a 16-year-old stuck at the Marathon gas station for at least 10 hours, hoping his bus arrives.
Griffin: "Is it frustrating?"
Teenager: "A little bit. But if everyone went through life being angry, nothing would get done."
If you'd like Marty to help you solve your problem, email him at GetMarty@kdka.com.
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