Buses Delayed By Protesters Following Opening of DNC Convention

The first day of the Democratic National Convention was a long one for Michigan delegates and others.

Already suffering from lack of sleep and tired from a long day of events, some delegates waited up to 90 minutes for shuttles Tuesday night to get to their respective state parties or to their hotels, after speeches had ended at the Time Warner Arena.

Michigan delegate of Dearborn said they waited until midnight for the shuttle.

“Two buses came — and we finally got back to Concord,” Hoffman told Patch. “The issue was that many of us felt the buses should have been pre-positioned nearby so many could load right away rather than waiting for circle routes.”

New Hampshire delegate Sen. Peter Burling said he waited for an hour and a half outside the convention with his delegation. He said one man had been overcome with exhaustion and a medical team was called in to assist him.

“We thought maybe they had been trying to move First Lady Michelle Obama and had to delay service as a result,” Burling said.

According to Yahoo News, buses were delayed due to Occupy protesters lying in the roadway and forcing buses at the DNC transportation center to remain parked.

A call to the DNC Transportation Center had not been returned at the time of this report.

Delegates had no idea why there had been such a delay.

Dave Flynn, also of Michigan, also said shuttle service had been very unreliable and unable to meet the demands of the convention.

Flynn was hopeful it was an issue that would be resolved for the remainder of the convention.

According to a press release issued by the DNC, more than 250 buses were transporting convention attendees from more than 150 hotels in Charlotte and surrounding communities.

But it could have been worse, at last week’s Republican National Convention, buses meant to pick up the Florida delegation at Palm Harbor’s Innisbrook Resort never arrived, according to the Tampa Bay Times.