It turns out that the strike was in protest of a change in the Metrobus drivers' shifts. They didn't lose jobs or wages, just changed shifts/routes. In January, when the changes went into effect, the daily commute became a guessing game. At Fourways Mall, after I got off work, I would wait for a bus and when one finally arrived, I wouldn't know if it was supposed to be the 3:50, 4:15 or 4:30 -- one would show at a random time and of course it would then get insanely packed with desperate, aggressive riders. We had new drivers, including one who not only didn't know the route and the stops, she needed directions from the passengers just to get out of the Fourways Mall parking lot. This particular gem also mastered the art of eating a popsicle with one hand, talking on the phone with the other, and driving a bus full of about 100 people at the same time. What a pro!
On another day, Yara and I waited 40 minutes in Braamfontein during the morning rush hour to get a bus to Helen Joseph. Usually we have our pick of four different routes, but in the 40 minutes, only two buses went by, and neither stopped for us. That day it took me two hours to get from Killarney to Helen Joseph.
Also that week, Metrobus posted a letter from management apologizing for the December strike and providing a phone number to report service disruptions. Both Yara and I that day phoned to report our recent experiences and were told that the complaint person (yes, they have only one) was out of the office and did not have voicemail. Such comedy!
So all of that is to say that things were bad in January. Sloppy, unreliable, frustrating. Well, how did they go one step further...strike! Yep, starting last week, another strike was called. But at first not all drivers were participating, and in trying out a new route due to the change, I encountered one of the most professional Metrobus drivers I've ever seen. But I'm sure even he's not driving now, as there are no Metrobuses at all on the roads and I've heard that the strikers are intimidating those who continued driving and threatening violence.
I typically have a lot of support for Metrobus and the drivers I ride with every day. But I have absolutely no solidarity with this childish behavior and thuggery. Dealing with changes in your job is part of having a job. There are so many people in this city that rely on bus drivers, but the louche, entitled behavior that they've demonstrated in the past two months makes me think that a clean slate wouldn't be a bad idea, particularly when there are sooo many people who would be thrilled to earn an honest wage.
Metrobus corporate also is handling this terribly. In addition to their genius customer service rep, their website often has surprisingly interesting features on events around town, particularly the evolving inner-city, but good luck trying to find an update on the strike.
To get around, I've been experimenting with a mis-mesh of methods. To Fourways in the mornings, it's usually Putco up Oxford Rd to the Gautrain bus (be sure to fill up that gold card in advance!). On the way back, it's Putco from Fourways Mall, but they only go as far as Rosebank on Jan Smuts, so I walk from there. I gotta give a shout-out to the driver Juke, who chatted with me for about 20 minutes before we departed the other day and was most amused to see, as he explained, a white woman on the bus to Soweto. He used the time chatting to extol the virtues of having a black boyfriend and nominated himself for the role.
Today, it wasn't enough just to find the right bus: the Putco bus I was on actually broke down on Jan Smuts in Craighall, so I gave up waiting for another and walked the rest. Fortunately I was in a great mood and the weather was idyllic, so I just put on my headphones and enjoyed it. Sure it may have taken me 2 1/2 hours to get home from Fourways, but I still felt bad for the people in cars stuck in traffic.
Getting to Helen Joseph is even harder since it involves a transfer. I think I'm going to have to experiment with minibus taxis. Ay yi yi. Last week, I just laced up my sneakers, pulled my hair back, threw my cinder block of a laptop into a backpack and walked the whole way -- an hour and a half. It certainly beats waiting, that's for sure. I may do that again tomorrow. And it picked up on my first-ever walk from Killarney to Melville a few weeks ago, where I took a wrong turn and got lost in Richmond. But now I know: from tony Westcliff Drive, don't forget to turn right at the pretty flowers and carry on.
