Splendour in the Grass festival attendees have taken to social media to share their frustration after waiting in bus queues until the wee hours of Sunday morning.
The three-day festival returned this weekend after multiple cancellations and postponements of 2020’s event.
Organisers were forced to cancel Friday’s main stage performances due to safety concerns after wild weather turned the festival grounds into a flooded swamp.
Camping at the festival site was limited due to flooding, with organisers redirecting campers to the Park N Ride site at Byron Events Farm site 13kms down the road.
Vastly improved weather conditions on Saturday meant tens of thousands of revellers flocked to watch acts like Jack Harlow and The Strokes perform, but things took a turn as the night came to an end as thousands queued for buses.
“It’s 4am,” one person shared on TikTok. “We have been waiting 4.5 hours for a bus out of Splendour in the Grass.”
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“Not to mention it’s a PREBOOKED bus ticket… like they knew how many people needed to go home,” the creator continued in the comments, adding that the group of friends got home at 6am. “The sun is UP.”
Some reportedly waited up to seven hours in the queue, while others left the festival early in hopes of getting home faster.
“We got back to Byron Events Farm at 3am,” one punter shared to Facebook group Splendour in the Grassers. “We left immediately after the Strokes finished.”
“Spent more time in the bus lane than at the festival lolll,” posted another.
“I got home an hour ago barely, waited 6 hours in the freezing cold along with hundreds maybe even thousands of other people waiting to get a bus home, ankle deep in mud with no help from staff whatsoever beside the occasional banana and cup of water (thank good god for red frogs),” one festival attendee shared on Facebook.
“I was there waiting in line for a bus. It was a shit time but no time waiting for a bus after a festival is fun no matter where you go,” posted another. “I agree should’ve been more buses but like I said when you have 50k people trying to get home or out of a festival it’s going to be shit.”
Many were concerned if transportation issues continued for day three, it would result in missed flights home from nearby airports.
One festival attendee shared a screenshot of a text conversation with what appeared to be a festival hotline on Sunday.
“Has the bus situation for Coolangatta been fixed for today and tonight?” they wrote.
“Splendour is currently in discussion in regards to this related topic and formulating a plan to decrease wait times on all sides with the bus companies,” read the reply. “The plan for the patron side of things will be the same, the splendour plan will be different, the bus turn around and format has always work (sic)… Today is why it was so delayed and internally fixing the process so you can relax and enjoy Splendour!”
Organisers officially addressed concerns about buses on social media today.
Buses weren’t the only public transport issue at this year’s event; there was a shortage of Ubers and rideshares as well as exorbitant price hikes for available cars.
News.com.au reported that costs to and from the festival soared on Saturday, with one punter paying $150 for the trip back to Byron Bay, while others shared screenshots of 25-minute trips going for $250.
