A man is accused of going on a joy ride this week on an unattended Canadian bus and dropping off and picking up passengers before finally being apprehended.
The actual driver of the bus pulled into a terminal in Hamilton, Ontario, about 42 miles southwest of Toronto, at around 9 p.m. Tuesday in order to take a break. The Hamilton Police Service said that an interloper, whom they did not publicly identify, got on board and drove away with passengers in tow.
The suspect stopped multiple times as they went into the Hamilton Mountain area of town, and let passengers on and off.
Police said that the suspect even prevented someone from getting on the bus with an expired pass. The man did not stick to the planned Hamilton Street Railway bus route during his joy ride.
“He took the bus off route. He started going down side streets. At one point, one of the passengers had to supply directions,” Hamilton Police Service spokesperson Constable Trevor McKenna told the New York Times.
There were about 10 passengers on the bus at any given time during the incident, and the man did not damage the bus.
“There was not a ding on the bus. He did a great job. It’s comical but at the same time it’s serious. We’re thankful nobody was hurt,” Constable McKenna told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Police found and followed the bus and ultimately stopped it, taking the accused man into custody without incident.
The 36-year-old suspect, who has no fixed address, is charged with theft of something worth over 5,000 Canadian dollars, possession of something stolen worth over 5,000 Canadian dollars, obstruction of police and driving while prohibited.
