I was on my way home from Elk Grove, Ca and I was traveling to Pasadena, Ca during the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I during the end of my train trip I was told by the train conductor over the loud speaker to board train number 4 at the Bakersfield station. I exited the train and entered bus number four. The bus driver looks at my ticket that is clearly marked Pasadena, Ca rips off his portion and allows me to board the train. After a few hours I notice the bus driver pass the exit for Pasadena on the freeway. After a few more minutes I ask the bus driver is this bus number 4 going to Pasadena. The bus driver states I was on bus number 4 but that he was not going to Pasadena. The bus driver went on to state that during Thanksgiving weekend this bus line is divided among 2 buses and that his bus was going to Hemet (which is about 90 miles southeast of Pasadena). The bus driver asked why I didn't say something earlier and I told him that I didn't want to tell him how to do his job and that he himself said I boarded bus number four as I was instructed to by the previous train conductor. At the Bakersfield station there were abosolutely no signs or notifications from Amtrak that the bus lines leaving from Bakersfield were split into two. The bus driver failed to do his job by failing to notice that my ticket was clearly marked Pasadena and allowing me to board his bus despite looking at my ticket as he ripped it apart. The bus driver called someone at Amtrak and offered to have me wait at a bus station in 40 degree weather at night with nowhere to sit while alternative transportation from Amtrak arrived to take me to Pasadena. When I refused this option due to fear of being harmed while waiting at a random gas station after 7pm he offered to have me spend the night in a hotel. I refused because I had work very early the following day. The last option was for me to wait in the lobby of a hotel in Hemet while a driver from Amtrak traveled from Long Beach to take me back to Pasadena. I accepted this option. During this coversation with the bus driver he was rude and condescending and always implied that the incident at hand was all my fault and that he had no part to play even though he looked at my ticket and allowed me to board the bus knowing he was not making any stops in the county I live in. While I was at the hotel I had to wait a full hour for my ride to arrive and he was nice enough to take me home which was about 4 miles away from the Amtrak stop in Pasadena. I called to file a complaint with Amtrak and it has been over a week and they have yet to respond. This incident caused me to arrive him about 6 hours later than I was suppose to and subjected me to an extreme amount of undue stress all because the bus driver whose bus I boarded failed to read my ticket and direct me to the correct bus number four that was making a stop in Pasadena, Ca. It seemed that everyone at Amtrak knew of the additional buses but there no signs posted and no notification whatsoever to notifiy someone like myself of this Holdiay weekend change. Although this was my second time using Amtrak I have used public transportion for about 20 years and am exceptionally well at using public transportation as a means to navigate the state of California. This incident was extremely stressful and as a result I will never use Amtrak again. I believe the least Amtrak could do is offer me a refund.
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