Municipal staff in Halifax are investigating after an alleged bus snafu on Canada Day.

Sarah Clark says she and others were stranded after they were told to disembark from the last Route 20 bus of the night because the driver decided to change routes.

"It was pretty stressful being late at night, being stuck downtown in Halifax, not being sure how you're going to get home," said Clark.

What happened

Clark and her boyfriend were waiting for the Route 20 bus on Quinpool Road after watching Deadmau5 perform on the Halifax Common.

She said they managed to get on the bus, but it stopped a short distance later near the Atlantic Superstore on Quinpool Road.

The driver asked everyone to get off "because he was changing into another bus," Clark said.

There was another bus behind them and Clark said the driver told passengers to get on that one instead.

'They didn't have any solutions'

"As soon as we got off and went onto the other bus, we realized it was pretty much full," she said.

"So basically, me, the person I was with and a couple of adults and a couple of babies were left stranded downtown Halifax because that was the last bus and they didn't have any solutions."

Clark lives in Spryfield and was faced with walking the rest of the way home. She said a friend was able to pick her and her boyfriend up near the Armdale Roundabout.

Nobody should have been asked to leave the bus, Clark said, adding that Halifax Transit could have done more to accommodate the people who were left stranded.

"It really makes you think, 'Am I going to be able to go out, even though the buses are still running? Is there going to be enough room? Are they going to be prepared this time?'" Clark said.

Extra buses on Canada Day

Halifax Transit was running on a holiday schedule Canada Day, but the municipality had 15 extra buses on the road for shuttle services and standby buses to help with passenger overflow.

A spokesperson for the municipality said it isn't normal practice for a driver to ask passengers to disembark mid-route so the driver can continue on another route.

Brendan Elliott, a spokesperson for Halifax, confirmed in an email to CBC News that the incident is being investigated internally.

Elliott said standby buses were used "over and above normal schedule" on Canada Day for Route 20.

Passengers concerned with Halifax Transit are encouraged to call 311 so the municipality can investigate incidents like this one, Elliott said, adding no one filed a complaint about the alleged incident.