Convention-Goers Trapped on RNC Buses for Hours

Needless to say, not a great ending to the night
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 29, 2012 8:45 AM CDT
Convention-Goers Trapped on RNC Buses for Hours
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie walks around the floor of the Republican National Convention in the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., as journalists follow him on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican delegates had a rousing day at the Tampa convention yesterday, were moved by Ann Romney's and Chris Christie's speeches, and then … spent two hours trapped on buses before finally being dropped off at their hotels in the wee hours. Convention attendees boarded buses to leave the Tampa Bay Times Forum last night, and that went relatively well—it only took about 30 minutes. They then had to travel five miles to the Raymond James Stadium, where they were supposed to get on new buses that would take them to their hotels. But the sheer number of buses created an ugly traffic jam in the stadium parking lot, reports the Washington Post.

  • The good news: The buses, which idled in the lot for hours, at least had bathrooms on board.
  • The bad news: On at least one bus, several people got sick.
  • The choicest quote uttered to the Post: "I hate this day."
  • Headache No. 2: Even after passengers were finally unloaded, there was quite a bit of confusion about which bus would get them to the correct hotel, and they didn't get dropped off until 2:30am.
  • Who's not the blame: Mitt Romney, who surely could have had the buses running correctly, says one attendee: "He's not in charge. That's the problem."
  • One peeved rider's plan for tomorrow: "I think I’ll stay at the hotel and watch it [on TV]."
(More Mitt Romney 2012 stories.)

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