With only five full-size buses and one midi-bus at its disposal, Buffalo City Metro’s municipal bus service will always be hard-pressed to keep up with demand.
The early morning and afternoon rush present a host of challenges, particularly in respect of getting commuters to their destinations safely and on time.
However, a number of allegations have now been levelled at the bus service and its drivers, including bus drivers pocketing cash after not issuing tickets and drivers not keeping to schedules.
In light of the allegations, the Dispatch, which has also received complaints from members of the public about operations, undertook to use the bus service incognito this week to establish the extent of these concerns.
The two trips, starting in Oxford Street and ending in Vincent, revealed that not all practices appear to be above board, and would certainly be worthy of an official investigation.
That said, there was also a geniality between drivers and passengers that could not be discounted.
Last Monday, the Dispatch boarded the Vincent-bound bus at the corner of Oxford and Terminus streets.
Scheduled to leave at 9am, the bus departed four minutes earlier than scheduled.
The R14 fee was duly paid over, and a clipped bus ticket handed over in return.
The journey into Kimberley Road up towards Frere Hospital was enjoyable, with pleasant banter exchanged between passengers and the driver.
After journeying along Amalinda Main Road, the bus entered Morningside.
At Jennings Road, an elderly woman was let on the bus without paying or having a ticket checked.
However, all other passengers boarding the bus were handed clipped tickets in exchange for their fare. Not one commuter complained of the driver being late or early to reach them.
The second bus trip took place on Tuesday, leaving from the same departure point in Oxford Street.
It is this trip that raised several red flags.
The bus arrived at about 5.50am, and once again the Dispatch duly handed over the R14 fare. But after waiting expectantly for a ticket to be issued, the reporter was told: “No it’s fine,” indicating that a ticket was not needed.
The bus departed at 5.55am, in keeping with the schedule.
The next set of passengers to start the early commute were two schoolgirls, embarking at Kimberley Road. The driver clipped their weekly commuter cards without incident.
Again the bus journeyed along Amalinda Main Road. All along this route, the bus stopped to pick up children on their way to school.
These pupils were also using weekly cards that were clipped by the driver.
After turning off Amalinda Main Road into Haven Hills, the driver stopped to pick up three schoolgirls near Lyndhurst Road. The girls paid the driver, but no tickets were issued.
At a stop a little further along, a schoolboy paid his fare, but this time a clipped ticket was handed over by the bus driver.
A popular embarkment point for pupils is near Osmond Street in Wilsonia. Here, three pupils were not issued tickets after paying the fare, while another simply appeared to walk on without paying.
On the journey into Cambridge, several pupils carrying clipcards boarded the bus, and the driver duly punched them.
However, in Dutton Road, Cambridge, a ticket was again not issued to a cash-paying passenger boarding the bus. This also played out with a schoolgirl boarding the bus in Glenside Avenue in Cambridge.
It cannot be said what exactly happens to the cash exchanged but not ticketed. What is questionable is why some paying passengers receive tickets and others not...