Jefferson Lines

I can't say if Jefferson Lines bus service is comfortable or not because I never got a chance to ride on it. They abandoned four other people and me at the bus stop leaving us to find other transportation.

While waiting for the bus to pick us up - this route was from Madison to Minneapolis - we watched as other bus companies stopped, picked up passengers, and then left. In each case, the bus driver exited the bus, opened the cargo door, and waited at least ten minutes for everyone to show their tickets and board. Jefferson Lines doesn't do this.

Instead, the Jefferson Lines bus was at least 20 min late. When it arrived, the bus driver let off one passenger, jumped back on the bus, and drove away. None of the people waiting - including myself - had a chance to ask the driver if he was going to Minneapolis. He stayed on the bus with the door shut and then just took off.

When I tried to get a refund, the bus company told me that the bus driver was only 15 min late - not true at all - and that he had waited the allotted 5 minutes. Five minutes! That's a much shorter stop than any other bus line making long-haul trips. Maybe it would have worked if the bus driver had indicated he was ready to board passengers. He didn't. As I said, he hid on the bus for a couple of minutes and then drove away.

All the abandoned passengers managed to get on another bus from a different company. That bus arrived on time, waited at least 10 minutes for everyone to store their bags and board, and then drove comfortably to our final destinations.

Jefferson Lines should look at their competition to figure out how to treat its customers properly.

Jefferson Lines is probably the worst company I've ever dealt with. Twice, they've canceled my bus; the second time with only one day's notice—too late to make other arrangements. This alone is frustrating, but not damning. The thing that makes them irredeemably horribly is their refund policy. Tickets are nonrefundable, even if they cancel your trip. You can transfer your tickets to another trip, but they charge you $20 for the transfer. You need to wait on the phone for hours, get hung up on dozens of times, and argue with unhelpful representatives in order to get these blatantly unjust fees waived. I hope for the absolute worst for this company, and I eagerly look forward to them going out of business.