Greyhound and Citiliner buses will be back on the roads from April 13 after ceasing operations early last year.
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The return of the luxury bus service was celebrated with a relaunch at Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg and was graced by Deputy Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, Ekurhuleni MMC of Transport Planning Alco Ngobese, deputy president of the South African Student Congress (Sasco) Buyile Matiwane, representatives of Greyhound and Citiliner buses and other stakeholdres.
Luxury coach operator Greyhound was resurrected on April 6 after its demise on February 14 last year after assisting millions of passengers with transportation services across Southern Africa for 37 years.
The closure resulted in thousands of people losing their jobs because of Covid-19 travel restrictions and other economic disruptions exacerbated by the pandemic. The former owner put the company up for auction after operating at a loss for a couple of years.
However, just over a year later, the new owners announced its return.
“We are extremely happy to be back and fully operational, as this will allow passengers the opportunity to travel safely and in luxury again. Customers can look forward to travelling in our premium Greyhound Dreamliner to long-haul destinations,” said Leslie Matthews, spokesperson at Greyhound Coach Lines.
“Not only is this great news for passengers, it comes with job creation at a time where unemployment is at an all-time low in South Africa.”
Matthews said the new owners, who want to be in the background, are a private investment entity, level 1 BEE-owned by a family trust.
“The most important thing for them is to get these buses on the road and people employed again,” said Matthews.
Chikunga said it was sad to learn that Greyhound was closing down operations last year.
“We are happy to welcome back Greyhound, one of the most well-known and trusted interprovincial bus services.
The return of the luxury liner is well-aligned with the ministry’s vision to get all transport forms fully operational at the highest standard,” said the deputy minister.
Chikunga said the relaunch of Greyhound and Citiliner would contribute to the growth of the economy, especially in the tourism sector.
Ngobese said as the City of Ekurhuleni, they are happy with how quickly the company bounced back after closing.
“Transport is the backbone of our economy, and it is for that reason that as the metro, we support the return of Greyhound. It will drive economic recovery and connect our people.”
Meanwhile, Matiwane said they were also delighted with the relaunch of the bus service and appealed to the company to continue with discounts for students.
Travellers can look forward to the below key routes, with direct routes to their destination or via popular stops for the initial roll-out:
• Johannesburg to Durban (direct)
• Johannesburg to Cape Town (via Bloemfontein)
• Pretoria to Cape Town (via Kimberly)
• Cape Town to Mthatha (via Garden Route)
• Mthatha to Cape Town (via Garden Route)
• Pretoria to Durban (via Empangeni)
• Cape Town to Durban (via Bloemfontein)
• Johannesburg to East London (direct)
• East London to Cape Town (via Queenstown)
In phase two, Greyhound aims to launch routes to the following return destinations, with many others to be announced soon:
• Johannesburg to Pretoria to Polokwane
• Johannesburg to Mosselbay (via Bloemfontein)
• Johannesburg to Mthatha (via Pietermaritzburg)
• Johannesburg to Mthatha (via Matatiele)
• Johannesburg to Pretoria to Komatipoort
• Johannesburg to Phalaborwa
• Johannesburg to Gqeberha (via Cradock)
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