Month: September 2014

By clairemac93

I learned through growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania that if you wanted to go somewhere, it was going to take a lot of creative energy to do so. It was my first introduction to transportation issues, and one that lasted quite a long time until I got my driver’s license and a car half way through my last year in high school. As such, the way to get around in a place is one of the first things I notice.

In Stellenbosch there isn’t much to share. Stellenbosch is out on its own- about an hour outside of Cape Town. Within the town, almost everything is walkable and the streets are friendly. Even at night I have had no problems walking home from any distance. You rarely, if ever, see a taxi here. Though I know they exist, I’ve never seen one. Instead, as is the case all over South Africa and more accurately speaking- all over Africa, they take the mini-buses.

Mini-buses are vans of about 14 spots on a packed day, which have specific routes they go on. In some places, you have a hand signal that you stand on the street with to show which route you’re looking for. Other places, such as in Cape Town, you either catch it at the mini-bus station, in which case the route is marked, or you stand on the street and the mini-bus wingmen scream out where they’re going. If you want to get in, you holler. When I say though, that there is a “specific route”, I mean only that there is a general direction they are going. Once on the bus, you tell the wingman to the driver (he’s the one who opens and shuts the door, takes money, arranges seating, and screams out of the bus as to let the driver concentrate on driving) where you want to stop at. Additionally, this isn’t a taxi, so cross streets just aren’t what they want to hear. Rather tell them, for example, to stop outside the Shoprite near the KFC in a certain area of town. They drive these streets every day, so they’ll know where you mean.

I, personally, love the mini-buses. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, speaking from a college student perspective, it’s cheap. A ride of 20 minutes across the city will cost you about R8, that’s US 0.80. This obviously depends on which city you’re in but nonetheless the trip will never cost you much more than a dollar. Secondly, it’s safer than a cab. Cab drivers here are skeevy, to put the most accurate adjective to it. They don’t run on meters, which they don’t do on purpose as to try to rip off unsuspecting tourists or to make up excuses as to why the fare has risen. You have to haggle almost every time you get into a cab, and even then things go wrong. Thirdly, the mini-bus is the most South African way to get around. One of my proudest moments upon getting here was my first ride in the mini-bus, crunched in among 13 locals, speeding across the streets of Cape Town. Lastly, it prevents you from being taken advantage of. Mini-buses don’t leave the station until full most of the time. This is good for you as a tourist, as if anything happens, 13 people just saw it. For example, I was once told a different fare than the rest of the mini-bus, being an obvious foreigner, and the entire bus went into uproar. “Unacceptable”, they said, “Everyone pays the same price”.

The second form of transportation here which is less frequented but still pivotal to the functioning of a work week, is the train. Now, having lived in Germany before, I had to lower my expectations a bit with the train. Germany was exceptional, and to this day I haven’t seen anything as efficient, or dare I say, shiny. South African trains may be a bit more like Septa in the United States. Rickety and outdated, but nonetheless used, these trains are busiest around 7am and 4-5pm. Though many would suggest to you to never take the train due to random gang activity or muggings, I’ve never had an issue. Like the mini-bus, trains are full of people. I take third class instead of first as to increase the amount of people around me. It costs about R11 to go the hour to Cape Town, about US 1.10. As stated, the trains don’t have a great reputation. No one rides them after dark. In fact, you’ll see them sometimes speed past at night and look through the windows to not see one human soul sitting in them. This is a shame, as sometimes the fear of violence breeds violence itself. Or it just breeds a rather inefficient way to run a train system.

Aside from the train and mini-bus, it’s an even mix between driving and walking. When I was in Johannesburg, at the end of a work day you would see huge throngs of people walking home to the townships from various parts of the city. There are deep paths made by many feet before you to wherever you want to go. It’s difficult to tell how many people actually have cars, as living in Stellenbosch is not representative of the greater population. However, considering how spaced out South Africa is, a car could be a beneficial thing to have.

As far as further distances, like Europe- South Africa has domestic airlines like Mango, which offer cheap flights across the country. This is because many people commute for work between Cape Town and Johannesburg. You can also take commuter buses. In fact, Greyhound is in South Africa. Though local travel is quite cheap, flights within South Africa and especially between African countries are incredibly expensive. I believe it’s because less people are using them, and those using them are usually quite wealthy, meaning prices aren’t driven down by higher demand. This means little country hopping like you would do elsewhere but easy travel within the country! I encourage that if you’re ever in South Africa to use the transportation that the locals use. It’s a great way to meet people, and more importantly, to show respect that you are open to seeing, even in the little ways, life from their perspective.