By Palesa Matlala
- Lindiwe Ntuli travels four hours a day and spends nearly R2,000 a month on bus fare.
- She’s built friendships and faith on the 9160 bus, but says she’s missed too much of her children’s lives.
Part two of our Soweto Transport series follows a woman who’s spent over 20 years on the same Putco bus. With South Africa’s broken transport system, she’s paid with her time, money, and family life.
Every morning at 6:30am, 59-year-old Lindiwe Ntuli catches the Putco bus from Molapo, Soweto, to Woodmead. The Pick n Pay retail assistant has taken the same route for over 20 years.
“Our store opened in 1994. Back then, I took a taxi to Noord and waited an hour for another one to Woodmead,” said Ntuli. “It was tough.”
She and her colleagues once started a lift club, squeezing eight people into a VW station wagon and paying R36 per day. It wasn’t ideal, but it beat the queues.
In 1998, they asked the Faraday Taxi Association to send more taxis to the area. A queue marshal was appointed, but getting home was still risky. Taxis from Woodmead didn’t go beyond Noord, forcing Ntuli to walk through the CBD in winter.
Eventually, they petitioned Putco. She started using their buses and paid R56 for 10 trips. “We didn’t have monthly tickets back then,” she said.
Now she pays R1,780 a month. “Life is so expensive. I work to transport money. I wasn’t there for my kids enough,” she said. Ntuli works six days a week and spends four hours a day commuting.
Still, she’s found comfort on the bus. The 9160 passengers hold morning prayers, celebrate birthdays and contribute towards their driver’s Christmas gift.
Ntuli is retiring in September. She plans to spend more time with her grandchildren and make up for lost time.
In part one of our Soweto Transport series, we followed Lungile Mafu’s gruelling 3:30am train commute.
Part three of our Soweto transport series will be released on Friday, 16 May, where we speak to a single mother who counts every rand and minute as she takes two taxis a day just to keep her job and raise her daughter.
Pictured above: Bus passengers.
Image source: Palesa Matlala
