AIBU to think this is a bit extreme?

[PurplePenguins]

My friend has an 18 yo DD and lives in South London. Her DD had a college trip to East London/Essex area and somehow lost her classmates. DD phones her mum and is panicking she can't get back, shes lost etc so my friend has booked her into a travelodge for the night and will go and pick her up in the morning (after phoning in sick) I know her DD has never been to the area before and it is unfamiliar to her but with the help of journey planner, Google etc she could navigate her way back to South London from East London (it's not mars) surely? Why didn't she Google the nearest train station instead of the nearest Travelodge?
WWYD if this was your DC?

For real? I thought my 18 year old was bad. I could see having to google/hand hold on the phone if it was late at night but not booking her into a hotel.

Maybe the dd has anxiety issues?

That is a bit weird, even if her DD was panicking etc, surely it would be easier to call a taxi to pick her up and take her to the train station?

Was she on the trip with teachers from the college? Did they know she was lost?

I’m confused, why didn’t she phone one of the others on the trip?

I’d be fairly unimpressed with an 18 yo that couldn’t google to find a way home.

Surely you go to a train station and you get a train to major London terminus. Then you look at tube map and go to terminus which links to her local station. It won't take more than 2 hours. How can a kid grow up in London unable to do this??? I'd understand if they're from the Scottish Highlands!
Mother is obviously enabling it. Is her baby too precious to use public transport?

When I was 18 I was at university, in east London as it happens. Utterly ridiculous that this WOMAN couldn’t make it back from east London to south London. Unless it was very late at night I would have expected her to go to the nearest station and get a train, maybe a money transfer from Mum if she was short on funds but that’s about it.
(this is presuming no anxiety/SEN/major health or mobility issues since you don’t mention any)

Was she with a teacher?

I agree this all sounds a bit ridiculous and OTT. Why couldn't she phone her friends to arrange to meet them somewhere?

She has no anxiety issues. She is spoilt. Driven to school and collected everyday as she didn't want to wait for a bus.

My thoughts are the same as most of you. Why didn't she ring a friend? Why didn't my friend Google her route home? Why didnt she get a taxi? It wasn't even late only about 7.

God only knows how she is going to cope when she goes to uni next year...in Leeds!

Oh dear! At 18 she's a bloody adult. Her parents are doing her a disservice by mollycoddling her. Hopefully moving to Leeds will be the making of her...

Omg that is bonkers