With the start of the Soccer World Cup in Cape Town the service of public transport has improved. The majority of the mini buses now matches the quality requirements of a European tourist. Between Sea Point and the Waterfront run large busses on Beach Road at 15 minute intervals that do not have to shy away from comparison with the European city buses. The buses start at sunrise and operate against 11 pm.

The big advantage of using that service is that they stop in front of the Waterfront. Mini buses only stop on Main Road about 500 meters away from the shopping and leisure destination Waterfront. Strangely, the popularity to potential passengers is quite low.

It’s quite hopeless to move a typical white South African using the public service vehicle. Who has the money is driving a car. Without exception.

Which possibilities of shifting have a visitor, especially in Cape Town? – Minibus, urban bus, rail, taxi or still the own car

Minibus: a current and the cheapest means of transport. Normally they are driving between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. After that they are also in use, but the waiting times are considerable longer. Central starting point of all minibus lines is the bus station besides the station in the city centre. From there the lines are driving in every point of the compass. But that means that there is no continuous connection, e.g. if you want to drive from a Northern district to a Southern. The start begins always, if they are a certain number a passengers and depending on the line it can be a full occupancy or occupancy with just 2 people. The driver stops on the road where people give him a sign that they want to drive with this minibus. Nearly all minibuses are driving along the Main Road of the Atlantic Seaboard, the most until the end of Sea Point and few of them also to Camps Bay. The drivers are notorious for their driving style being dangerous, but strangely enough it happen no accidents. At the moment there are two different types of buses – the old version (like the VW-bus) and a new Chinese bus. The old buses are partly very shaky and it could happen that some passengers have to sit on cases. It’s also really close in the inside, especially when you are sitting besides a “Mama Africa”. In addition you can hear ear-battering music announcing the arrival of the buses to all road users. The new buses are very comfortable, more secure and they are soon the exclusive vehicles, especially at the Atlantic Seaboard.

Regular urban buses: are until now hardly an alternative. On the one hand they are driving just at the Beach Road every 15th minute and on the other handy they are similar to jail buses. The driver is sitting in a “cage” and the buses have even lines with 3 seats. But thanks to the World Cup there is a change to the modern MAN-buses.

Price table for a stay in Cape Town

First signs of the WorldCup in South Africa are the increasing prices. The combination of that sporting event and the very strong Rand makes South Africa to a not very cheap travel destination.

By a stay for several months a student or intern should calculate following monthly costs:

Flight depending on season, airline and the distance to the flight date: 550 € – 1000 €

Accommodation
Sharing a flat per month: 2500 R – 4000 R
Shared room in a hostel per night: 80 R – 120 R
Single room, shared bathroom in a hostel per night: 150 R – 200 R

The public transport system is just rudimentarily existent. You have to depend on a car, if you are living in an external district or you are often on the road in the evening or during the night.
You can always decide between two options:

- Car hire
If you have plans to be in Cape Town for less than 3, it’s not worth to buy a car and after that to sell it again.

- Car buy
If you are staying for more than 3 months then you should consider buying a car. Good used cars are relatively expensive and below 25.000 Rand (=2500 €). But caution should be taken because some of the cars will have mechanical defects.