Investigation launched after Greyhound strands girls in B.C.’s remote Interior

VICTORIA – Reports of two young sisters being stranded midway through a bus trip at a remote Interior depot in the middle of the night is "completely and totally unacceptable," says British Columbia's transport minister.

Todd Stone said the provincial government has launched an investigation after a media outlet reported that the siblings, aged 12 and 16, were left for hours in Valemount after being told their bus tickets had expired two days earlier.

"As someone with three young daughters of my own I just cannot imagine finding out that my children were potentially left on the side of the road in the middle of the night because of a ticket not being valid," Stone said.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this and make sure whatever action needs to be taken will be taken."

The provincial probe will involve accessing Greyhound's internal investigation into the incident, Stone added.

Greyhound spokeswoman Lanesha Gipson said in an email the bus company is treating the matter very seriously and that customer safety is the business's cornerstone.

The girls had been allowed to travel from Prince George to Valemount, located about 80 kilometres West of the Alberta border, but the connecting bus was full and had no room to take them, Gipson said.

"The driver still wanted to assist these customers, and called the central dispatch office to find out if there were any seats available for the customers to travel on the next schedule."

Company employees at the 24-hour facility were aware of the situation and kept an eye on the girls until their father eventually picked them up, she said.

"The staff had constant communication with the customers, and were always monitored as to ensure they remained safe."