The Latvian bus operator Ecolines runs a service from Moscow to Riga. On behalf of some family members, I purchased two tickets for the Moscow to Rezekne (in Latvia) portion of the route next week. Travel plans have changed and the passengers now need to go all the way to Riga in order to make their flight connection.
Since Ecolines sells only international tickets on this route (i.e., they won't let you buy a ticket just from Rezekne to Riga), and because it's not possible to change the destination of a ticket using their website, the normal solution here would be to cancel the existing tickets online (for a 70% refund) and then buy new tickets from Moscow to Riga. However, the service on the day of travel is completely sold out. If I cancel the tickets online, then there's no guarantee that I'll be able to rebook the seats before someone else does.
For days we have been trying to reach various Ecolines offices to ask if they can extend the tickets over the phone, but so far they haven't been answering the phone or responding to electronic messages. Neither I nor the passengers are physically near any Ecolines office, so an in-person visit is out of the question (except possibly immediately before departure). Assuming we're not able to contact Ecolines before the trip, what are the chances that the passengers would be able to stay on the bus in Rezekne instead of disembarking? Given what I wrote above, it seems their seats would still be available from Rezekne to Riga, so it may just be a question of whether they can buy the extra fares directly from the driver, or if not, if the driver would even bother to enforce the destination of the existing tickets. Can anyone who has experience with Ecolines advise us?
