Out of the way: Westbound Greyhound passenger perplexed by 8-hour detour to Ottawa

A Petawawa, Ont., woman attempting to get to Portage la Prairie, Man., was flummoxed to find out her bus ticket required her to endure an eight-hour detour in the wrong direction.

Elaine Wiebe said when she went to purchase her ticket from Greyhound's website, she chose the only option available to get from point A to point B, normally a 34-hour trip.

Eight hours of extra sitting is hard on the butt,especially when it'sunnecessary.- Elaine Wiebe

According to Greyhound'sschedule, the bus leftPetawawa at 4:50 a.m. on March 28, then travelledmore than 150 kilometres east to Ottawa before backtracking to the station inPetawawafor a 20-minute layover.

Then at 12:50 p.m. eight hours after embarking on its journey thebus finally headedwesttowardManitoba.

Wiebe said she didn't notice the awkward detouruntil she'd printedherticket.

"It's ridiculous,"Wiebesaid. "Eight hours of extra sitting is hard on the butt,especially when it'sunnecessary."

Agents in Philippines, Texas

Wiebeimmediately called Greyhound's customer service number, but could only reachagents in the Philippines or Dallas, Texas, who weren't familiar with Canada's vast geography.

One agent spent close to an hour on the phone with her to help sort out the issue, but the call dropped.

"I was not going to call the Philippines back just to spend more time on the phone," Wiebe said. "I've probably spent close to eight hours already."

Frustrated, Wiebe went to the local Greyhound station in Petawawa to see if she could have an alternative ticket printed.

"They were kind of shaking their heads, wondering, 'What the heck?'" Wiebe said.

Agents told her they'd had complaints about the detour before, but couldn't print a different ticket because the Greyhound system only offered the one option.

"They're going, 'We can't just print you a ticket, there's only one schedule,'" Wiebe said.

Bus driver's decision

Sheemailedthe company, but couldn't obtain a guarantee that she'd be allowedto board when the bus stopped inPetawawafor the second time.

"In order for you to be allowed to board the bus at12:50 p.m. onceit has come back, you will need to speak with our agents at your local Greyhound station and with the driver,however it is up to the bus driver to allow you to [board]," the company replied by email.

Wiebe said she was planning to take her chances Tuesday and try to board at 12:50 p.m.

She even called the Ontario Provincial Police in Petawawato see if they could step in if the driver refusedto let her board,but officers told her the issue wasnot a police matter.

It was only after CBC got in touch with Greyhound with Wiebe's storythat she received a guarantee.

Greyhound blames systemerror

Wiebe's situation was the result of a "scheduling issue due to an error in our reservation system," spokesperson AllisonMorrisonsaid in an email.

Morrison saidthe company's regional vice-president got in touch with Wiebe to assure her she would be allowed to board at the later time.

Greyhound also agreed to compensate her for the amount she paid for the unwanted Ottawa detour.

"It's a lesson in buyer-beware," said Wiebe, whobooked the trip as a mini-vacation to visit her sister and 91-year-old mother, and who plans to fly back home.

"I appreciated their services, I enjoyed my trip last time," Wiebe said."But I won't be taking the bus again if I see a ticket that takes me to Ottawa first."

By late Monday afternoon, Greyhound had updated its website so passengers travelling westfrom Petawawa now depart at 12:50 p.m.