Orlando Sentinel (Sunday)

Flixbus canceled 3 trips. I want more than a refund.

- By Christophe­r Elliott — Martin Yeung, Inglewood, Calif. Christophe­r Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the author of “How to Be the World’s Smartest Traveler.” You can read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org, or

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Flixbus failed me on a recent trip from Los Angeles to Fremont, Calif. The bus was scheduled to depart at 10:25 p.m. It arrived at the station on time, and we boarded the bus and sat down. At 10:45 p.m., the bus driver informed us that the new driver who was supposed to drive from LA to Fremont did not report for duty and that we were getting rebooked on another bus that was scheduled to leave at 11:45 p.m. After 2 1⁄2 hours, Flixbus canceled the trip via text, stranding about 40 of us in the parking lot

no other options at 1 a.m. I had to Uber home. The company rebooked me on the next available bus the following morning. That bus was 40 minutes late, but the late status notificati­on was not sent out via text until 8:53 p.m., only 92 minutes before the scheduled departure time. Flixbus also canceled my return bus on the San Jose-to-Los Angeles route, again via text message.

I called Flixbus and informed the rep that I could not accept the new time due to other planned commitment­s. Flixbus rebooked me on another route, but canceled that one too. I asked Flixbus to explain why the buses that I had confirmed reservatio­ns for all got canceled without notificati­on. To date, I have not received a response.

I decided to purchase a Southwest plane ticket for $178, and I took a Lyft ride to the San Jose airport and flew back to Los Angeles.

I’m requesting a cash reimbursem­ent of $271 to cover my original purchase of Flixbus tickets, Uber and Lyft rides and the Southwest plane ticket. I’m also asking for a $500 cash compensati­on for the pain and suffering Flixbus inflicted upon me and my family. two. But three? Your rights to compensati­on are outlined in the Flixbus terms and conditions: www. Flixbus.com/terms-and -conditions-of-service.

Flixbus owed you either a full refund or a ticket on the next bus. An appeal to the Flixbus executives for more compensati­on could have helped, but the carrier wasn’t obligated to cover your airline ticket, your car rides, nor your pain and suffering. You can find the executives for Flixbus on my consumerad­vocacy site: www.elliott .org/company-contacts /Flixbus/.

I contacted Flixbus on your behalf. The company apologized for your experience and for the delay in responding to you. It agreed to cover your Uber and Lyft rides and your Southwest Airlines tickets, and it offered you two vouchers for a future bus ride.

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