I would not ever accuse the mother of being anything but concerned about her daughters. I have 4 daughters,
and if two of my daughters had been in same situation, at that age, I would have had lots of questions.
the driver also should have been concerned because of their ages, and the ticket problems could have been
sorted out later, the care of those young girls should have been first on the list 'to' get them to their
destination without making them hang around for hours.
their destination was red deer, and they should have been delivered there efficiently, and tickets
could have been paid for after the fact.
the kind of people who are lurking around 'anywhere' these days just waiting to find young girls on their
own for 'any' reason is a big concern, and no one should let that happen.
because tickets were expired, is not important compared to the care that should have been given those
sisters, and hanging around a gas station/bus station for 5 hours, is not care at all. there are extenuating
circumstances sometimes that ward reaching out to help people, this was one of those times, and it was
not done.
for anyone to think there is 'no' problem with this situation, is missing a few marbles.
From the article it also stated that the bus was full which would make it difficult for the driver to accommodate the extra 'free' passengers safely even if he chose to do so. Imagine the uproar if the bus was involved in an accident and these girls were killed or hurt because they were improperly secured (not that there is much security in a bus in the first place).
I am not sure if the expired tickets were a scam by the teenagers for free passage or negligence on the mother's side for purchasing invalid tickets for the transport required. but I suspect this was not the first time the driver has seen this type of 'error'. Sorting it out later means free passage as once they got to the destination they would be into the wind never to be seen again. For all I know that could come out of the drivers salary.
Having said all that, I am not sure what the correct course of action was to take. If there actually was an attendant responsible at the station, then leaving them there is an appropriate action. If there wasn't, would calling the police be better? I am not sure what they would or could do.