Only way to deal with trolls is to ignore them. Move on, move on...

To the OP. No you're not allowed to stand on the rental car bus - that's why they have employees at the door counting customers. Your only real chance would have been to stand at the beginning, and when the driver asked you to sit down, explain that there are some drunk clowns at the back of the bus drinking booze and you do no want to sit next to them.

I'm curious what the driver would have done. Maybe he or she would have thrown them off. Or called the cops (thereby delaying the bus). Or taken the bus back to the starting point to let one of the parties off. Sounds like you had plenty of time...

But of course you don't have much time sitting on the bus after boarding to know how it's going to go.

I don't know if I would have been as restrained as you. You get points for that.