What should have been a nice New Year’s Eve in New York is turning into a nightmare for about fifty Quebecers, prisoners of their bus since last night.
These tourists, who had booked this trip on the Tourika.com site, found themselves stuck in a coach of the company La Québécoise because of a puncture which would have occurred around 6:15 am Monday morning on the edge of highway 87. , at the height of Elizabethtown.
––
–
“We’ve been in the same place since 6:15 am this morning. We left Quebec at 12:30 am, ”explained Véronique Lamarre, a passenger at TVA Nouvelles.
“We called on the bus company. They told us that they were sending us another vehicle. Finally after that, they chose to send us a “towing”. We haven’t had anything, we haven’t eaten yet, ”she continued.
An American tug which heard the call for help from the passengers came to help them and the puncture was repaired around 3 p.m.
––
–
The coach did not leave immediately, however, as a vehicle alarm sounded without the driver being able to identify the problem.
However, the driver resumed the road until the next exit to the displeasure of some passengers who did not feel safe due to the winter conditions in the area.
“We are very angry with the company because they don’t seem to have a plan B. We have been abandoned. Everyone is tired. We didn’t really sleep. We are also losing a day of travel. It’s disappointing, ”Ms. Lamarre denounced.
After stopping at a gas station to do several checks, the bus resumed its journey towards the Big Apple shortly before 5 p.m. Passengers will therefore have spent more than 10 hours in the vehicle on the highway. Their arrival in New York was scheduled for around 11 p.m., almost 24 hours after their departure from Quebec.
The Director of Corporate Affairs at Groupe La Québécoise, Pierre Tremblay, gave details of this particular event.
He specified that the company was dealing with Michelin for this type of breakdown and that it is the tire company which was responsible for resolving this type of unforeseen event, normally within two hours.
A first tow vehicle arrived on site around 9 a.m., but was unable to complete the job as it took heavy equipment to change the tire.
Mr. Tremblay said he did not yet understand why it took so long for a second tow truck to arrive on site.
He apologized for the situation and indicated that a follow-up would be done with Michelin.
The company provided a dinner for the afflicted travelers on Monday evening. Their stay, which was scheduled to end on January 1 in the early afternoon, will be extended by two hours since some passengers have to return to work the next day.
Contacted by TVA Nouvelles, the Tourika.com agency said it was aware of the situation, but did not appear to be available to give more details at the end of the day on Monday.
– .
