Where to start.
I think the one thing that has caused me to realize what a shitty company Golden Arrow bus services really is, was the introduction of our own MyCiti bus service.
I have been on a MyCiti bus about, say 30 times. And every single experience was positive. From the attitude of the people who work at the major terminals, to the conductors on the buses, the drivers, the condition of the buses, the very way they are operated and driven, the fact that not one of the buses I have ever used was late, not to mention the cost, sharply contrasts against the hot mess that Golden Arrow bus services is.
Let me speak of some examples:
1) Ticket prices
Albeit that GABS has simply more resources, a farther reach, and is a for-profit company, although heavily subsidized by government, it is simply, in the long run, cheaper to use MyCiti buses. For example. A weekly ticket (10 rides) on GABS to my area will cost me R97.00. Now, if I take MyCiti, the same 10 rides will cost me R69. And that includes trunks and transfers, in a bus that is clean, safe and according to my own experience, always on time.
2) Ticket expiry
This is where GABS bullshits you. Without a doubt. A weekly ticket has 10 rides. It is valid for two weeks. WHY? Why is it not simply valid for 10 rides? I'll tell you why. I ride the GABS every day. Every single day, I see people trying to use the bus with a ticket that expired the day before. With multiple rides left on the ticket. It is my contention that unredeemed, expired rides is a huge profit centre for Golden Arrow Bus Services. Listen, I understand that fuel prices go up. But they do not go up every two weeks. So, ya well, no fine, put a 3 month expiry on all tickets. What's your excuse?
3) Security
Security? You mean people in uniforms that ensure that criminals and petty pickpockets do not steal your cellphone from your pocket whilst you are trying to board the bus? Don't make me laugh. Women being harassed by street sellers who will physically intimidate them until they buy something? How hard can it be to fence off the large terminuses, like the one at Grand Parade, and give access only to valid ticket holders? Simply set up a booth where people can buy a once-off cash ticket if they do not have a weekly or monthly ticket. Done.
4) Safety
I can't even believe I am using this word in relation to gabs. I come from a transport background, as a young man I operated a very large truck company. I know how a vehicle sounds when the brakes are worn down to the metal. I know when I smell a clutch burning. I can see the coolant or oil leaking from the bottom of the vehicle. And for fuck sakes, I KNOW when a driver can't drive for shit. Swerving across highways, pushing other vehicles out of lanes, speeding, dead braking for no reason and the ever annoying and nauseating foot-on-gas-foot-off-gas in half second intervals, all the way home.
5) Driver training
If I were to tell you the amount of times passengers have to show a driver the route (often times a route driven by a driver before) you would think I am shitting you. Golden Arrow, have you never heard of GPS? With routes mapped on them?
The excuse that drivers tout is that they do not get shown the routes. If they want training, they have to come in on their own time to be trained. Really? Golden arrow, what shit are you smoking? Where have you ever heard of staff having to be trained in their private time? No. You train your drivers ON THE JOB. If you are too damn cheap to supply the technology that is available, you train a driver on the routes every single time, on company time, before he has to drive the route. Simple. And why are arrival and departure times not consistent. On any given date, the buses will arrive late or if not late, will leave before the designated time, and when one complains, you are told that your watch is wrong. Well my cellphone clock is synced automatically with the Atomic clock at the world time server. It's called technology.
That does not even touch the fact that many of the GABS drivers simply cannot drive safely. Do you remember the little incident where a driver, inside the main Grand Parade terminus, reversed, went onto the pavement where passengers were waiting to embark, and then knocked over a man, and continued to reverse right over his head, killing an innocent man waiting to go home on a Friday afternoon after a long week of work. A regular bloke like me.
And I sincerely hope that the driver did not get blamed here. The real problem is that a driver who was insufficiently trained, got his ass put in the driver seat. Done. No excuses. Golden Arrow management cost a man his life.
Add to that the numerous complaints you find on Hellopeter, Facebook and all over the internet. Just Google it for yourself.
6) Company culture
Can you say rude? As in fucking rude? Now they even have "Don't talk to the driver" stickers. Rude, blunt and standoffish officials at the terminals. Rude drivers. Drivers who get rude when they make mistakes. I don't even want to go on. The people in this company need a serious attitude adjustment.
Oh and don't dare ask for a replacement bus after the bus you are waiting for is an hour late. You will be told that "There are no resources (drivers) at the yard." Never mind that there are about 5 drivers standing around smoking, having parked their buses for the night. Probably an overtime payment issue, if the drivers I have spoken to are to be believed.
7) Poor (no, really shitty) planning
How many times should an inspector get onto a bus, count the amount of passengers, and yet, the same amount of buses get sent, or in some cases get reduced. Does "Certified to carry 35 seated and 10 standing passenger" not mean anything? Is that not a legal restriction? So how come, on those very same buses, are there often over 70 people squeezed in? Consistently, day after day? Are you really that out of touch? Government won't allow you to provision more buses? Good on them. Now get out of the way.
8) Cleanliness
Cockroaches, cockroaches, cockroaches. I wonder why MyCiti does not have this issue? Oh, perhaps it is because they are not FEEDING the cockroaches, due to them not allowing fucking stinking FOOD on their buses. Piss and shit everywhere. Criminals. Beggars, Pickpockets and scammers. Mentally ill street preachers. Non passengers being allowed by drivers to preach Jesus at me on the RIGHT ON THE BUS, which I paid for! Are you off your bat? GOLDEN ARROW is making money from this, so I believe they can foot the bill for keeping it clean and safe. It does not suffice to say that it is municipal property. Just dig in your pockets a bit.
9) Somebody is having their palms greased too, methinks
How else do you explain these:
What does that look like? An airport shuttle, right? I have it from the mouth of a Golden Arrow mechanic that these buses are rated to run safely at 60 kilometers per hour. Yet, I have paced several of these buses exceeding 120km per hour on the N1. Know what happens when they exceed 60? They swerve. Been there, felt that. Don't believe me, go take one on the N1. You will kiss the ground when you get out. Guaranteed. Yup, the guy who signed off on these got some back pocket love, otherwise the decision is inexplicable. Boggles the mind.
Never mind the fact that they carry even less passengers, have almost no seating, and the bane of my existence, have no leg space for tall guys (seems they were built for short people only), and have an aircon with no windows that has two settings: Off or Frozen Solid. As in people bring rolls of tape to stick over the vents. Even on the older buses, leg space is an issue. Hey Geniuses, take out the front row of seats and move the other seats forward a few centimeters each. Problem solved.
So in the end, I think there is only one real solution. It is time to shut down this "1968 mentality" company down. Revoke their contract with government completely, fire the management and all the staff and give MyCiti the routes.
And for the love of all that is good, MyCiti, do not employ their drivers before extensive psychometric testing has been conducted, and they have been trained to drive properly, and trained how to interact with their passengers in a civil and professional manner. And for fucks sake, please don't let GABS mechanics work on MyCiti buses, as they hear they already do.
The problem with GABS is endemic, and I think, unsolvable. It is a top down company culture issue that is not going to be fixed. Hopefully government has realized this, I hope and hence the MyCiti plan. Power to them and down with GABS. We have had enough, and the only thing that is keeping them alive, I think is an attitude of complacency and apathy amongst passengers who have been browbeaten into using this service because very little else is available. Oh and GABS, quit trying to legally preventing the City from replacing your crappy service. We, the commuters are rubbing our hands in glee and anticipation. We can't wait until MyCiti takes it all over. And this time we won't even mind that our taxes are used to subsidize it. At least we will get decent service in return.
This city simply deserves better than Golden Arrow Bus services, full stop.
