Not quite the same but -
My wife and I were on holiday in Marbella when our two oldest girls were about ten and eight.
We queued for ages for the bus into town, it eventually arrived, and the exit doors in the middle were right where we were waiting.
I told my wife to get on with the girls, and I would queue at the front door and pay - seemed foolproof.
Three people in front of he, the driver said something which I guess translates as 'Full up, no more ..', closes the doors and drives off, leaving my wife and kids on the bus with no money to pay!
While I am wondering what to do, hey presto, another bus appears, and I hop on that one, and when the bus in front, with my family on, pulled in at a stop, my bus sailed past it, so I actually got to the bus station first.
My wife was in serious panic mode, the girls thought it was hilarious, and we learned our lesson - one on - all on!!!