by Charlene Chew, staff writer

After a lively night at Senior Ball last month, 26 Cal High students waited outside of San Francisco’s City Hall for almost an hour for their party bus to pick them up.

When the bus finally arrived, it reeked of alcohol and marijuana, and many of the students’  belongings were gone.

If this scenario sounds familiar, it’s because similar incidents happened to students after Senior Ball the past two years.  Unfortunately, this year was no different.

After Senior Ball on May 21, the students who had been waiting for their ride boarded the bus to find bottles of hard alcohol throughout the back seats, including two opened bottles of vodka in the cooler, and a 30-pack of beer on the front passenger seat underneath a coat belonging to one of the male students.

None of the alcohol belonged to the Cal students, said senior Nicole Cianciarulo, who booked the bus with Runways Limousines.

“You always hear about ‘that group’ that gets left behind,” said senior Cameran Ambler, one of the students on the bus. “But I did not expect to be ‘that group.’ We were all shocked.”

Nicole had to call the bus driver several times toward the end of the dance and after it ended at 11 p.m. before he even picked up his cell phone.

Once the bus driver finally answered his phone around 11:10 p.m., Nicole said there was loud music in the background and he was screaming at her.

The driver told Nicole he’d be there soon, but after several more calls he failed to show up until around 11:50 p.m.

While waiting for the bus to arrive, Nicole said she called Runways Limousines.

“They were completely lying to me,” said Nicole.  “They were trying to tell me one of the doors was broken and that’s why he wasn’t there.”

Once the tardy bus arrived, the students boarded it and expected to return to San Ramon.  But after seeing how the bus looked inside, Principal Mark Corti told all the students to get off the bus and had them call their parents to pick them up.

“Our number one goal is to make sure everyone is safe,” said Corti.  “If we feel we need parents involved to make things safer we do that.”

While on the phone with her dad, Nicole turned around to see the bus driving away, at which point everyone was more concerned with the safety of the students than the bus driver.

Corti said the students did everything they should have done and he was very happy they recognized the unsafe situation and asked administration to get involved.

Both Cameran and Nicole felt administrators handled the situation very well.

“It was nice how Corti talked to the driver with frustration,” said Cameran.  “They cared about us and waited with us until the very end.”

Administrators and a few teachers waited with the students until around 1 a.m., when all the students were finally picked up by their parents.

“(Administration) wasn’t upset with us,” said Nicole.  “They honestly did the best they could and I appreciate everything they did.”

Nicole called Runway Limousines that night asking for a refund, but she said the company claimed that the alcohol and damage to the interior of the bus was the students’ fault, not the company’s.

The company later admitted to double booking the bus and that the damage and alcohol was not the Cal students’ fault.

The company gave the students a full refund of about $1,700 dollars, roughly $64 a person.

Although all the students got home safely, it is a concern that the students could have been driven by someone under the influence.

Events similar to this situation have occurred with transportation companies before.

“I think it’s appropriate that parents investigate the trans

portation companies because I feel some companies have more experience in transporting students than others,” said Corti.

Aware of bus disasters in the past, Nicole spoke with Runways Limousines several times prior to senior ball because she was concerned with being double booked with another party.

The company assured her that her party would be the only ones on their bus that night.

“I tried to take precaution several times,” said Nicole, who felt responsible for the situation since she booked the bus. “I did my best to prevent this.”

Nicole said she did a lot of research to find a reliable and affordable bus for the night.

She found several positive online reviews for Runways Limousines on yelp.com, and only one negative review, which described an unsatisfactory situation identical to her experience.

Nicole recommends that if there are any negative reviews to just go with a different company.

Cameran also suggests doing a lot of research, reading reviews and asking students who have used transportation companies before.

Although the experienc put a damper on the night, the students still had a memorable experience at their senior ball.

“No one’s night was ruined because of the bus,” said Nicole. “We still had fun.  No one was upset, we were just in awe that this happened to us.”