\u201cWe could watch him drive off, and he would have been able to see us still standing there in the shelter,\u201d Ngatai claimed. <\/p>\n
An InterCity spokesperson confirmed they received a complaint and an investigation was conducted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur review found that the stop in Tokoroa was a brief boarding stop rather than a scheduled rest stop. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe driver advised passengers that the stop would be brief and conducted a check before departing,\u201d InterCity said. <\/p>\n
At the time the coach departed, the driver was unaware a passenger had not reboarded.<\/p>\n
Once the driver became aware, InterCity said action was taken to reunite the passenger with the service and ensure they could continue their journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe acknowledge that this was an upsetting experience for the passenger involved and regret the distress caused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not intend to comment on individual allegations or conversations attributed to those involved and are unable to provide further detail in accordance with passenger privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Waving my hands frantically\u2019<\/p>\n
Ngatai said she had just dropped her 18-year-old son off to catch the same InterCity bus to Porirua when the incident unfolded. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just saying our goodbyes, I gave him a cuddle, and then he boarded his bus.\u201d <\/p>\n
Moments later, a few women came from the nearby bathroom and boarded the bus, and the driver closed his doors and started to drive off. <\/p>\n
Ngatai said the bus was about 2m away when the woman in her 60s approached them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could hear this lady from behind us, and she was frantic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could tell how stressed she was. She\u2019s like, \u2018No, no, no, that\u2019s my bus, that\u2019s my bus. I need to be on that bus\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ngatai said the woman claimed she had told the driver she was going to the toilet and wouldn\u2019t be long.<\/p>\n
\u201cI start waving my hands frantically. But he wasn\u2019t paying attention.\u201d <\/p>\n
A woman travelling to Wellington on an InterCity bus was left panicking and stranded in the rain after the driver left her behind. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe go into panic mode because this lady is a complete stranger to us, and she\u2019s in panic mode. So we\u2019re all thriving off her energy, and it\u2019s like, \u2018What are we going to do?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ngatai said they called her son, who was on the bus, to sort out a solution. <\/p>\n
He gave the phone to the driver and asked him to turn the bus around or pull over. Ngatai said the driver told her he was on the way to Taup\u014d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI proceed to tell him, \u2018I\u2019m not driving to Taup\u014d to get her back on that bus\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe paid, and you\u2019ve got her luggage. You need to do something,\u201d Ngatai said. <\/p>\n
The driver then pulled over and Ngatai delivered the woman to the bus.<\/p>\n
Ngatai\u2019s son claimed other passengers told the driver someone had not returned to the bus, and the driver allegedly responded they would have to \u201cleave her behind\u201d. <\/p>\n
Ngatai said the woman\u2019s family was grateful for the family\u2019s assistance. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf that was my old man, I would probably make heads roll.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similar incidents <\/p>\n
The comment section of Ngatai\u2019s Facebook post about the incident was flooded with other people\u2019s experiences of being left behind. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis happened to my 93-year-old mother and a young guy approx 12\/13 years old, last year at the Taupo stop. The bus drove off with her purse sitting on the seat and her luggage on the rack above her,\u201d one person wrote. <\/p>\n