Jefferson Lines buses have the most spectacularly unfriendly service of any bus line I’ve ridden, ever. Worse than Greyhound, worse than Peter Pan, worse even than the LA Unified School District bus I rode as a kid.
Let me back up.
Jefferson Lines is a bus service that runs all over the midwest. As far as I could tell, they were the only way to get from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport to a small town about forty minutes away, without recourse to a rental car or a taxi. It was easy to make the ticket reservation online, and they charged me $13.50 or so for a 40-minute trip, which seemed reasonable. I was made a little uncomfortable by their “no refunds under *ANY CIRCUMSTANCES*” policy on the tickets, but then, lots of transportation providers are similarly restrictive, and I figured I hadn’t much to lose.
Waiting for this bus at MSP airport is not the most comfortable or reassuring activity. There’s a bus area, but most of the signs are for city buses. There’s no sign to show that Jefferson Lines also stops there. What’s more, the information desk at ground transportation was closed on the day in question. So when, at 2:12 PM, no bus had yet arrived, I felt the beginnings of concern. If I missed the 2:15 bus, there wasn’t another one scheduled until 8-something in the evening. And besides, it was cold out there at the bus stop.
It was with growing paranoia, and decreasing feeling in my fingers and toes, that I waited — through 2:15, 2:25, 2:30. A man with a long white beard and a grim expression was also waiting and stomping to and fro, and after fifteen minutes or so of ignoring one another, in the fashion of seasoned travelers, we finally made eye-contact and admitted we shared a common predicament.
At 2:44, the Jefferson Lines bus pulled in to the bus bay. The man and I both made something of an undignified sprint to where the driver had parked (well away from the curb) in case he thought no one was there. I met the driver descending the stair. He was a gentleman at the end of middle age, with greying facial hair and a bleary expression, and would have been about right cast in the role of an old sea dog — one of Captain Flint’s worn out companions, or part of Ahab’s crew.
He looked me over, up and down, and his eye fell on the ticket I was holding out hopefully.
“Mumble mumble terminal,” he said.
“You have to go into the terminal?” I repeated, confused.
“You’re a quick one,” he said. “Don’t know why everyone’s so impatient. Can’t even let me go inside.”
I blinked. “Er… sorry. I thought my ticket said the bus left at 2:15, and it’s 2:45 now, so I figured you were going to leave again right away.”
“I don’t care what your ticket says. I run on real time. American time.”
I opened my mouth, but no appropriate response came to mind.
The driver, warming to his subject: “If I don’t leave [muttered place name] until 1:15, I’m not going to get here at 2:15, am I? How come everyone’s got to complain about it? Everywhere I go, passengers saying, ‘You’re laaaate.’” He took my ticket, then held out his hand without further comment.
“ID?” I suggested.
With sarcastic emphasis, as though addressing the village idiot: “Yeees, ID.”
He made a show of examining my passport, then handed it back to me. “Not going to get you there any faster, but you can get on. And take your bag. I’m not checking it for you.”
I can only assume that all this was the deep grouchiness and resentment of a man held up on his way to use the men’s facilities indoors. One might ask why he didn’t stop somewhere else if that was the problem, but considering his alternatives, perhaps I feel a little pity for the man after all.
He did keep complaining about his whiny, unreasonable passengers well into the forty-minute trip, though.
August 15, 2007 at 10:11 pm
In an attempt to find the address for the Jefferson Lines to lodge a formal complaint about the “service” I witnessed and received; I stumbled across this commentary. To add my comment about my long distance journey with Jefferson seemed appropriate to give prospective travelers insight as they choose to venture across America with this less than charming, less than efficient, less than humane bus line.
Traveling from Dover, Delaware to Springdale, Arkansas was not a planned adventure. My beloved friend of 24 years called me on short notice to come to her side to offer comfort and spiritual inspiration after discovering that she has not one, but three Brain Tumors. She bought me a one-way airline ticket because she wasn’t sure what was going to happen or the time frame it was going to happen in. It turned out that there would be a lengthy three week delay in getting her to the stage of determining her course of treatment, so I decided to return home to finish preparing my home for sale to be free to stay by her side during the entire recovery process.
Being in a monitarily challenged financial position,I had no other choice except to travel by bus. After traveling from the Eastern Seaboard to the Mid-South,I now have a renewed understanding of the plight of the financially challenged citizens of this great country we call America. I felt as though I was being punished by the devil himself for having temporarily set aside my life to answer my friend’s call for help.
Traveling on Greyhound would have been punishment enough, however to complete the 38 hour(2 hours longer than promised)journey via Jefferson Lines, was confirmation that the devil had his dasterdly hand on the journey. I found myself not sensing self-pity, but having great compassion for my fellow travelers. It was as if my eyes had been reopened after a long sleep and I again was charged with the duty of speaking up for the broken, downtrodden and underpriviledged.
I was APPAULED to say the least, at how these already struggling people were treated in the terminals, by the transportation “professionals” and most importantly, by their host, the Coach Drivers. May God have mercy on those who mistreat the poor and downtrodden.
For me, as one who has fed the hungry, clothed the naked and housed the homeless, this bus journey served as a reminder of how the less fortunate are treated as a whole. We tend to forget that the bottom crust of the pie supports the filling and yes, the upper crust. The “poor” are not crumbs to be swept beneath the rug and hidden from sight. If they were treated with dignity as a whole, they may well rise above their circumstance and financial challenges. Jefferson Lines seems to have forgotten that those of us who cannot afford air travel are their bread and butter.
I witnessed people being threatened to be bumped to another bus for speaking up about an obvious injustice. Against my nature, I sat back and did nothing to observe how the wheelchair bound, deaf, blind in one eye woman begged the bus line staff to help her off of the bus to use the restroom and to get something to eat. I was yelled at and threatened to be put off of the bus myself for speaking up about the inhumane treatment of an intoxicated man who WAS put off the bus in the middle of nowhere between Conway and Morrilton, Arkansas in the heat with no water and no telephone to call for help. Our needs were ignored,the Jefferson Line buses was filthy, in poor repair and without toilet paper for the entire day. We were anything but accomodated. In fact, we treated as prisoners by our driver, Mr. Anthony Valentino on the bus that was traveling in the midday sun, with no pull-down shades to block the sun and little to no air conditioning on that dog day afternoon of August 13, 2007.
With heightened security threats on the airlines and the overpriced airfares, I strongly suggest that you find any other mode of transportation you can before CHOOSING to travel with Jefferson Lines. I think John Stossle of ABC’s Prime Time, would be BEGGING Jefferson Lines to “Give Me a Break” if he took a clinedestine journey across the U.S.A.on a Jefferson Line’s bus.
August 17, 2007 at 10:25 am
Yikes. My driver wasn’t in quite that league, I have to say.
It’s a pity that train service in the US isn’t more extensive and reliable outside the northeast corridor — it might provide some competition for bus services, and trains are usually better provided with water and toilets.
January 13, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Hi
Guess what? I got screwed by Jefferson lines today.I bought an E-ticket to travel from Forest lake to Duluth and I waited for about an hour for a bus that never showed up.I called their hotline number and was told that the bus stop had been changed and that the bus had already left.They refused to give me a refund although their website does not have the change listed anywhere.The ticket cost me $20 and it’s not the money that pisses me off.It’s the fact that they think that they can cheat anyone and can get away with it.Bah!
June 2, 2008 at 6:31 am
I agree whole heartedly with “Angry Traveller” and the original poster. I got screwed over on this “AMERICAN TIME” and also not getting a refund. In fact, because of their incompetence, I have called 5 times in increments of every other day during business hours and on top of that, I e-mailed them 6 times already just asking for a response. Actually on the 5th e-mail, I wrote “Do you even check your email? Please respond”.
What a complete waste.
December 10, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Yes I too had an interesting experience. My letter to Jefferson Lines gives full detail of this experience. I wonder if I’ll get a response.
I would like to bring your attention to a frustrating event that occurred Tuesday December 3, 2008. My son Edward Pokorny had just been released from a hospital in Missouri, with no place to go, and no money. He called to ask if I would buy him a bus ticket back home to Omaha, NE and of course I said “Yes”. I found your web site for Jefferson Lines on the internet and called the 800 number. Sara took my call and the information for his ticket. I told her he was walking down to the depot (carrying a box and two bags of clothes about a mile) in St. Joseph, MO as we spoke, to pick up his ticket. She said, “oh good!” Sara proceeded to tell me if he had any problems he just needed to give the driver the confirmation number and show his ID. It was 6:10 pm and the depot was closed.
With the confirmation number, his ID, two bags and a box of clothes he sat in the depot waiting for the bus. The temperature outside was 13 degrees. The bus arrived at 2:00 am, (mind you he had been sitting there since 6:00 pm with not money, food, nor a place to stay), the driver would not let him board. The driver said he “needed a ticket or cash.” My devastated son called me erratically pleading for help. I called every number I could find on the internet and could not contact a human being. Edward continued to wait and the clerk arrived at the depot about 7:00 am and he received a paper ticket. My son caught the next bus at 9:00 am. If you have ever heard someone crying I’m cold, I’m hungry, I’m tired, I don’t feel good, it is the most helpless and sick feeling a person could ever have, more so when it’s your own child. He was in no condition to be sitting in a bus depot for fourteen hours.
Your service does not live up to Jefferson Lines Mission Statement. I am very concerned with your services and your employee’s human error in not notifying a dispatcher or the driver that they had a paid passenger waiting at the St. Joseph, MO depot for the 2:00 am bus. As a result of this devastating incident, I am asking for a refund for the ticket and transfer charges, as well as letter of apology and additional vouchers.
Please respond to this letter by December 31, 2008 or consideration will be made to pursue this unpleasant incident further.
January 30, 2009 at 10:08 pm
My son who is a college student at Bemidji State in MN had a ticket with a scheduled departure at 2:20. He called at 2:22 and said the bus hadn’t been there there. We immediately called the dispatch number and were left on hold for 15 minutes before someone answered. In the meantime, my husband called the Bemidji bus depot and asked for help. She said, “Oh that’s too bad, the bus has already left here. That’s why I tell people to go to the bus station rather than the bus stop.” Meanwhile, someone answered from dispatch that said the bus arrived early at 2:05 and left at 2:09. She could tell by her GPS. He left 11 minutes early. We have been on the phone for hours now trying to get this resolved. I spoke with a AnnaLisa in the call center who was trying to be helpful, but was limited in what she could do. She asked someone from corporate to contact me. A lady from corporate called and I could tell she was irritated to be bothered with this. I asked her name and her job title and she hung up. I called Annalisa back and told her that the call must have been disconnected. She said, “No, she hung up on you and I would recommend that you be really nice if she calls back again.” So, she said she would try push someone from corporate to contact me again. In the meantime, my husband just left the Twin Cities to drive to Bemidji to pick up our son – a 10 hour trip to get him, all because a bus driver decided to leave 11 minutes earlier than he was scheduled to leave. After this, I cannot imagine trusting this bus service. If this is how they treat customer service…
…IMAGINE HOW UNSAFE THEIR BUS SYSTEM MIGHT BE!
Now imagine the fight we’ll have trying to get our refund. This is clearly the worst case of customer service I have ever experienced in my life. Save yourself – do not use Jefferson Bus Lines!
March 17, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I just arrived home yesterday and had the worst experience I have ever had in such a long long time with Jefferson (bus) line. I am in the process of writing a letter now to Jefferson and Greyhound bus lines. As soon as I have finished the letter, I will post on here.
Highly recommend not using Jefferson Line.
Only had to use them 1/2 the trip due to buying the ticket with Greyhound.
March 18, 2009 at 12:05 am
This letter is written for all the other passengers during my journey with Jefferson Lines & Greyhound, who has told me about their abuse or seen abuse by Janet and at the hands of other long distance bus drivers.
Each passenger I listened to had such a story similar as mine or even worse. I encouraged each passenger to write a simple letter and explain what each driver has done to them in order for them to get to their destination.
March 18, 2009 at 12:09 am
My letter I am mailing tomorrow:
Greyhound Lines,Inc. and Jefferson Lines
RE: “Complaint of Abandonment and Verbal Abuse” of Jefferson Line Driver
Bus #: 1854
Driver: Janet (Picture attached)
MN US DOT#: 116763
Date of Occurrence: Sunday, March 15, 2009
Time of Occurrence: 6:55am
Greyhound Confirmation #: 43726492
To whom it may concern:
I called Greyhound 800 number on Saturday, March 14, 2009, to make a one-way reservation.
Leaving: Sunday, March 15, 2009, at 6:25 a.m. from Lewisville, Texas
Arriving: Monday, March 16, 2009, at 5:45 a.m. in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The reservation agent on the phone said to arrive one hour in advance at the Greyhound office location at 877 S Stemmons Freeway, Lewisville, TX 75067, and to have my bus ticket issued. I asked if the office will be opened that early and the agent answered, yes, the office is opened at 5:00 a.m.
I arrived at the office at 5:15 a.m. It was a Chevron gas station and it was not opened. I called Greyhound 800# and was told they did not know why it is not opened and said to give the driver my Confirmation #43726492. I made them aware I was dropped off by a taxi and I am in an unsafe isolated environment and location. They told me there is nothing they can do.
The Chevron gas station was lightly dimmed and I did not want to stand in front of the gas station building to attack any attention since I am alone, female with my luggage and there were no other passengers waiting. For safety precautions, I hid on the side of the gas station waiting for the bus to arrive at 6:25 a.m.
At 6:45 a.m., the bus has not arrived. I called Greyhound’s 800 # to ask if the bus is on schedule and was told they don’t have any way of finding out. I asked for a supervisor or manager and was told there isn’t one in the calling center to speak to.
At 6:55 a.m., the bus came through the Chevron parking lot without stopping. I ran after the bus and as it turned on the Service road, I banged on the bus door and the bus came to a stop. Jefferson Lines’ driver (Janet) opened the bus door and asked; “What the hell do you think you are you doing?”. I told her I am to be on this bus to Cincinnati, Ohio. She asked; “Why wasn’t I at the bus stop?” I told her I’ve been at the bus station since 5:15 a.m. hiding on the side of the building for safety precautions.” She said; well, get in. I told her my luggage was on the side of the building back at the gas station that I would be back in 1 minute. She stated she didn’t have a minute to wait. Her passengers have transfers in Dallas. I declared, she was already 30 minutes late for me, waiting one more minute for me to run back 100 feet to get my luggage wouldn’t make any difference. She said; “either you get on this bus now or you will have to wait for the next bus.” I said; “it will only take a minute!”. She closed the bus door and left me abandoned in the unsafe location.
I could not believe she would not wait one minute for me to return to pick up my luggage. I looked around and did not know what to do, where to hide. I just could not wait for the sun to come over the horizon. I walked back to the side of the Chevron Gas Station to hide.
I called Greyhound’s 800 #, of course they had no solutions for me. Again, I asked for a supervisor or manager and again I heard through the earpiece, there isn’t one for me to talk to. The agent said the next schedule bus to Cincinnati, Ohio was at 1:05 p.m. at the same location.
Finally, at 7:50 a.m., the attendant for the Chevron gas station opened the doors for service. I asked him what time they normally opened on Sundays and he told me 8:00 a.m. They have never opened up for Greyhound at 5:00 a.m. as Greyhound agents previously told me. He issued me my ticket although it was issued for 6:25 a.m. He said, he cannot change the new time to 1:05 p.m. I called Greyhound that the attendant cannot change the time and the agent said not worry.
At 12:50 p.m., I was in the bathroom and the Chevron gas attendant came banging on the door that the bus was here, hurry! I immediately noticed it wasn’t a Greyhound bus, the huge letters printed on the side of the bus read; Jefferson Lines.
I went around to the bus door and long in behold was the same driver which abandoned me earlier! She once again started her attitude with me by saying; “what are you doing getting on this bus, we’re not going in your direction!” I stated to her, Greyhound said to get on this bus to Cincinnati. She came down from the driver’s seat grabbed my ticket out my hand and said; this ticket is for 6:25 a.m.!! You’re on the wrong bus!! To my astonishment that she would even say that, I said to her (Janet), “don’t you remember you abandoned me because I wouldn’t leave my luggage and you even told me to take the next bus. Well, this is the next bus!”
Janet, the bus driver, mumbled so many cuss words and told me roughly to get on the bus. I asked for my ticket back and she told me she isn’t giving me my ticket back. She is going to keep it until we arrived at the next station to change it. I told her politely, I want my ticket back that I will change the ticket at the next official bus station. She refused to return my ticket.
After a few hours and a few stops, we finally reached an official bus station and changing drivers. What a sign of relief! As I was walking down the stairs to get off the bus, I grabbed my ticket off the front dash and went inside to have my ticket reissued to the correct scheduled times. The asked the ticket counter agent what is the name of my bus driver. She stated; she is not allowed to tell the names of the drivers. For me the easiest way to find out her name since none of the passengers knew, was to ask another Jefferson Lines’ driver.
As I walked back outside to get on the bus, without seeing her coming, Janet said; give me your ticket and snatched it out of my hand and said she needed her portion of the my ticket. I grabbed my ticket out of her hand this time and told her to go see the agent inside and walked up the stairs on the bus.
During the approximate 3 hours time I had to be on Janet’s bus, I sat 3 seats behind her. I could not believe the verbal abuse the passengers had to listen to. I also could not believe the lies she told to the passengers in regards to holding a CDL (Commercial Driver License), Class B. I wanted to confront her many times of her fabricated stories she told. I, myself hold a CDL, Class A.
We made a stop before Oklahoma City. She said we could get off the bus for 5 minutes and she didn’t have a passenger to pick up, she was only ahead of schedule. She wanted to have a cigarette and anybody else that wanted one could get out also. A five (5) minute cigarette break for Janet. My timer started. We not only had a 5 minute cigarette break, we had an 11 minute break. Janet had plenty of minutes to have a cigarette, though for a paying passenger, she wouldn’t wait one minute for me to run back and pick up my luggage!!! It is because of the passengers, she has a job.
This whole bizarre incident with Jefferson Lines’ driver Janet was enough to write this letter. She has no compassion in her body by the way she treated me and the other passengers during my time on the bus with her. Jefferson Lines needs to either release her from her duty or put her in some type counseling behaving around paying passengers and the general public.
Cc:
Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Room H-130
Washington, D.C. 20580
Minnesota Department Of Labor And Industry
443 Lafayette Rd. N.
Saint Paul, MN 55155-4344
Minnesota Department of Transportation
CENTRAL OFFICE
Transportation Building
395 John Ireland Boulevard
Saint Paul, MN 55155
Motor Carrier Services
Transportation Building
395 John Ireland Boulevard
Saint Paul, MN 55155
Office of the Governor
Attn: Governor Tim Pawlenty
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
WCCO – TV
90 S. 11th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Kare 11 – TV
8811 Olson Memorial Highway
Golden Valley, MN 55427
KMSP – TV
11358 Viking Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
KSTP – TV
3415 University Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55114-2099
Minnesota Public Radio
480 Cedar Street
Saint Paul, MN 55101
March 18, 2009 at 12:12 am
Also make a complaint to Federal Trade Commission at:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
June 10, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Hi!
I had a terrible experience with Jefferson Buslines customer service and I haven’t even ridden the bus yet. I had to dial through extensive call menus from both greyhound and Jefferson buslines.
I am planning a course of study at University of North Dakota. I live in Winnipeg and I wanted to know if it was possible to take the bus home for the weekend.
Here’s the problem. According to the current schedule the bus leaves Grand Forks at 4;45 pm Friday. That is great. However, the only bus back to Grand Forks is on Sunday at 9:00 am. Too early.
All I wanted to know was whether or not the bus schedule changed to accomodate students during the school year. No one in any of the customer service departments at either bus lines could answer my question. However, the greyhound people were by far much more polite.
The woman I spoke too from Jefferson, said she just received my email. Then I heard her say, “can I discregard this email?”
I said “I beg your pardon?”
“Ma’am, I’m talking to my supervisor, not to you. I am going to mute you right now.”
When the customer service representative returned to the phone, I restated my question and added, “Don’t you think that if I could talk to the person who works at the bus depot, the person who is there all the time, who sees the buses coming and going that that person would be able to tell me in 5 seconds flat whether or not the bus schedule changes in the fall.
In response to this, the customer service representative became irrate and hung up in my ear.
The next day I went to the bus depot in Winnipeg. We cannot phone the bus depot any more as all calls for greyhound are handled by the call center.
The lonely greyhound worker, told me exactly what I wanted to know in less than a minute. He knew when the Jefferson buses came in from grandforks, and when they went out from Winnipeg, and that the bus schedule does not change during the school year.
“Listen,” I said, “I’d like to make a complaint about the fact that I can’t phone the bus depot anymore.”
“They don’t listen to a thing I say.” replied the greyhound employee. “Greyhound has been bought out by a company in the UK, all the calls go through a call centre in Dallas Texas.
So, in case you haven’t read my entire complaint, I’ll sum it up.
AFTER SITTING ON THE PHONE FOREVER, AND WADING THROUGH CALL MENU AFTER CALL MENU, LEAVING PHONE MESSAGES AND SENDING EMAILS AND HAVING A JEFFERSON CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE IGNORE MY EMAIL AND HANG UP IN MY EAR, I FINALLY WENT DOWN TO THE BUS DEPOT IN PERSON TO HAVE MY QUESTION ANSWERED IN LESS THAN A MINUTE.
Why can’t we just phone the bus depot in our local area and talk to someone who cares and knows what he’s talking about?
How can this company get away with treating people so poorly and remain in business?