The gautrain is not built for Africans. I cringe every time I am seated in an isle seat and new passengers come bumping down the isle. Some of these big ladies cart around a bag with two or three bowling balls in it as well, and they are not afraid to swing them around. That will teach me for having shoulders wider than the seat.
Everything on the gautrain, however, is bliss in comparison to the Tswane bus service that I must use to get to the gautrain. The bus that I always took at 05H10 is no longer running, because there are not enough busses to serve the whole of Tswane. Most afternoons I stand and wait for a Tswane bus from 16H45 till 18H10, because there are no money to maintain the busses.
I wonder if there is a way to force the people in public office to make use of the public transport. Make sense, doesn't it? If they are elected to serve the public, they must be part of that public to know how to serve us. What better way to meet and be part of the public every day than to stand in queues every day, waiting for busses that never pitch, phoning around for lifts, walking to other routes to just find a way to get to work? I am sure that the money saved on official transport will help a lot, and other money will suddenly become available to fix this big problem.
Unfortunately I fear it is already much too late. In trying to uplift the masses, we allowed ourselves to be pulled down, and they are not prepared to let go. If they cannot soar, then at least they can prevent us from flying. It is the least they can do...
No comments:
Post a Comment