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.
The rail has a bad reputation, which is not really justified. It’s a good connection from the centre to Simon’s Bay, which we can recommend without restrictions. There are developed complete Southern districts including the bathing resorts at False Bay. The section from Muizenberg to Somerset West directly at the ocean is so unique, that it would be a holiday attraction in every other country. The fare is laughable cheap and the train journey is also very secure thanks to the other passengers and the security people. We recommend just limited the second route to the beach, but don’t worry if you’re travelling with a bigger group during the day.
Taxis are everywhere available, but normally they don’t stop on acclamation. There are fixed places where the taxis are leaving. Rikkis Taxis is like a collecting taxi, you can call it and within 15 minutes someone is picking you up. Depending on the passengers they are driving a detour to achieve the goal. The price is between the scale of minibus and taxi.
Usually you can say that you don’t need a car, if your home and your working place are in the same city centre or in the neighbour district.
But are you living in e.g. Sea Point and you have to get daily to Belville, an Eastern district with a lot of good employers, you need a car. Regularly journeys by nightfall (summer at 8 p.m., winter at 6 p.m.) also require a car.
If you need a car you can decide between two options: car hire or buying with a later reselling. Buying a car is not an economic decision, when your habitation is below 3 months. If you’re staying longer you can use this option. There are contractors buying back the car to a fixed price. Assurance and taxes you have to pay for yourself, but it’s manageable.
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