Woman recalls 'chilling' moment she was locked inside a dark bus after missing the last stop

Published: 23:56, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 23:56, 9 June 2026 A young woman has recalled the terrifying moment she was locked inside a dark bus for almost an hour when the driver left to get a coffee.  Brisbane commuter Madison filmed herself walking up and down the bus after it reached the terminal without her realising.  The musician was supposed to catch a train home at the final stop but was scrolling on her phone and didn’t notice they had arrived. She claimed the driver left the bus after two other passengers got off, leaving her alone for 45 minutes. 'When we pull up to what ends up being the final destination, I didn't even clock that we were there,' she said in a TikTok video about the experience.  'I was just chilling, looked up and didn't look the other way where the train station was. It was dark, so I couldn't really distinctly recognise where we were.'  'The driver stood up, looked at me and just opened the door and stepped outside.  'I'm looking at him the whole time he's doing this, but didn't think too much of it because I was like, "Maybe we're running a bit early and sometimes the bus drivers will stop and step outside for a second", but then he kept walking. Madison recalled the terrifying moment she was locked inside a dark bus for almost an hour when the driver left to get a coffee 'That's when I stand up and go, "Wait, is he walking away from us? I'm still here, hello".' Madison said she tried to catch the driver's attention.  'I'm trying to open the doors and I'm banging and yelling because [the driver's] just walked away and I can't see him anymore,' she said.   'He's gone somewhere and I'm just waiting for him to come back.' She called Brisbane's public transport authority, Translink, which told her to contact police. They explained how to use the emergency exit. Madison said the driver returned with a coffee as she was getting off.  'I walk up to him while still on the phone to the police and was like, "You just left me on the bus mate", and he's looking at me laughing going "What are you talking about"?' 'To be honest, I get that he was confused and probably shocked, but seeing him laughing after I had just been locked in the bus for at that point for 45 minutes, I was f***ing pissed.' The confused commuter filmed herself walking up and down the pitch-black bus after it reached the terminal without her realising (pictured) Madison said the police were on speaker phone trying to de-escalate the situation.   'They were saying, "Madison stop yelling at him, like this is not gonna help anything". I just walked away because she's right, it is definitely not helping anything.  'But I did say to him, "I'm f***ing reporting you", and he was saying to me, "I looked on the bus".  Many people urged Madison to file a complaint.  'You need to make a complaint and push it. What if next time he does this and it's a 17-year-old with less idea of what to do than you,' one said.  'Please immediately file a full complaint. It was worrying enough for you, but what if it had been a child, someone with severe anxiety or a disability, elderly,' a second said.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.