Let me begin by saying that we had an absolutely wonderful time in New York City last weekend. It was just the ride back that wasn't quite so nice. As brilliantly depicted, at left, in an original Uncle Louis rendition, um, well, the Hunt Valley Motor Coach tour bus we were riding caught fire.
It happened soon after we pulled out of the Lincoln Tunnel, heading home. A bunch of drivers around us starting honking and pointing at the underside of the bus. The driver pulled over by the first off-ramp and said everybody had to get off because the bus was on fire. We could smell the smoke.
This is where the fun started. We were towards the back of the bus and a bunch of people ahead of us starting making a big deal about getting all of their shopping bags out. So we're standing there, the bus on fire, while a few women tried to get their Macy's bags together. I eventually convinced them to move their asses.
(There was one guy, by the way, who refused to get off the bus. He sat there until the police made him get off.)
So we stood on the side of the road while the fire department put out the fire. Then they loaded us back onto the bus and towed us to an overpass where we waited in the hot sun for another two hours until they could get another bus for us. One of the Secaucus police officers was kind enough to buy a case of water for the parched passengers. We eventually made it home sometime after 1 a.m.
But perhaps more upsetting than the actual incident is Hunt Valley's poor customer service in dealing with it. In short, they were nonplussed, offering a mere $20 in compensation per passenger. They acted as if it happens all the time.
Only a few days later did I learn that, apparently, it does happen all of the time. Three days after our trip, another illustrious piece of the Hunt Valley fleet, this one leaving St. Louis, caught fire.
My phone calls to Hunt Valley have gone unreturned and a letter is on its way to the bus company's owner. Being the frequent customers that we are, you'd think they'd want us to be happy.
So what will Hunt Valley do? Will the company do the right thing and offer each person a free trip? Will they pay back the kind police officer who bought us bottled water? Time will tell. And when it does, I'll tell you too.
