public transport

Ever since that nasty Thursday morning a couple of weeks ago when I discovered my car was not where I had left it I’ve been relying, like so many others in this country, on public transport.

At first I was a bit apprehensive about this. I was not snubbing public transport as such, it just seemed like my life would be greatly inconvenienced by the lack of mobile freedom.

I am happy to report that so far it has not been a problem. I’ve gotten the hang of the trains and minibuses down pat. I bought a week pass for the train this week, and I’m saving quite a buck on transportation costs. Getting to work and back takes a little longer, but I’m not too concerned.

I’m enjoying public transport in Cape Town. I’ve been thinking about making use of it for some time now and now I have no choice. So.

It dawned on me this week that one experiences a part of the city that many people are completely indifferent too. Many people in fact gets unsettled by the thought of taking public transport. What about train robberies and murders and the way the minibuses drive?

I guess we are all a little more comfortable with the idea of dying in a car wreck that by someone else’s knife. Myself included. But in all honesty I feel pretty safe on the trains and having a blast. Here is where I get ideas for stories and garments and I have two hands to write it down with. I can read in between destinations or I can look out the windows at the passing scenery. I listen in on conversations total strangers are having with total strangers. I feel like I am, here in the Cape Colony with its smell of European-ess, like I am in Africa.

It might sound like I am trying to make the best of a shitty situation, but honestly, I am enjoying it and I think if I still had a car I might still make use of public transport as much as I could.

First class!