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Indy-to-Atlanta Megabus stranded for hours in KY

Posted at 11:01 PM, May 06, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-07 12:31:50-04

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Passengers on a Megabus traveling from Indianapolis to Atlanta were stuck for hours Friday night on the shoulder of a Kentucky highway.

The bus left the Circle City at 1:30 p.m. and was supposed to arrive in Nashville, Tennessee, for a stop by 6:20 p.m.

But around 5:00 p.m., the bus broke down south of Louisville – and remained there for hours.

Passengers on board said the driver told them an airbag mistakenly deployed.

A mechanic then showed up, but left three hours later after taking the wheels off the bus, but not fixing the original problem.

A charter bus picked up the passengers shortly after midnight.

A passenger who spoke with RTV6 said she was headed to Nashville for her niece's graduation and was worried she would miss the ceremony.

Sean Hughes, director of corporate affairs for Megabus, issued the following statement late Friday night:

"Megabus.com can confirm that one of our buses traveling from Indianapolis, IN to Nashville, TN with a final destination of Atlanta, Georgia did have a mechanical issue on their trip. A mechanic was immediately sent when the bus broke down, but upon inspection of the issue, they did not have the right parts to fix the problem. A number of calls were made to local bus companies seeking assistance, and Megabus.com was able to find a company that could assist.  All of the passengers are in the process of receiving a refund. Megabus.com apologizes for the inconvenience to the passengers. Megabus.com travels more than 50 million miles a year and has an extensive maintenance program. Rarely, some unforeseen issues do happen, which are unable to be prevented."