An overcrowded bus to Palmerston left passengers stranded in Dunedin waiting for two and a-half hours for the next service.
Palmerston resident Jan Cohen, 77, said Thursday’s 3.35pm service from the bus hub in Great King St to Palmerston was the worst she had ever seen it.
"I’ve seen it pretty bad but [Thursday] takes the cake.
"It’s always been overcrowded and ORC of course has sat on their bums and done absolutely nothing."
She came to Dunedin once a week do some shopping and visit her son, Ms Cohen said.
Some passengers had to voluntarily get off the bus to let pupils from a Dunedin school get home on time, leaving them waiting for the 6pm service, she said.
The bus was absolutely "chocker" and some of the pupils had to sit on the steps, she said.
Ms Cohen criticised the Otago Regional Council bosses for never doing anything.
"It’s just gone on for too long.
Another Palmerston resident, Miriam Methers, said there had been a second bus service available for a short while but not of late.
On March 2, The Star reported that ORC transport implementation lead Julian Phillips said the council had asked bus service contractor Ritchies to add an extra bus to the route and he hoped to have an answer within the next few days.
Six months on, council transport manager Lorraine Cheyne said an extra morning service was introduced at the start of the second school term and an overflow bus was on stand-by if the 3.35pm service’s capacity was exceeded.
She apologised for Thursday’s travellers to Palmerston and said the council would work with operators to ensure passengers on the 3.35pm service would not be left behind again.
