The worst public transport system on the planet

I've been using the Gautrain since its construction in 2010.

I was proudly one of the first users that supported and believed in the system since then and I was sorely mistaken in my support of such a vile, underhanded and dishonest blemish on the face of South Africa.

It's only been complaints, for over a decade and not one single issue I've reported has been addressed or remedied, that's if I even got a reply.

The train schedules seem to be made up as they go along, you might get a train in ten minutes, maybe one in 20 - relying on the app is useless. They've made me late for work every time I've used them.

As a passenger you'll disembark the train and rush to catch a bus, only for the bus driver to slam the doors shut in your face and launch off as quickly as possible.

If you confront them or the foreman, they don't care. They refuse to listen to reason or professionals instructing them on how to make the bus service more efficient. They swear at the passengers in various languages, incorrectly assuming we don't understand. They blast off from bus stops before the passengers are seated, throwing them and their belongings everywhere. They harass the female passengers, in front of everyone, like they're untouchable.

On the Sandton bus route the drivers all huddle together and spend an extra amount of time at the Monte Casino stop while we wait for the service for an hour at times when there should be a bus every ten minutes. When they arrive they smell of liquor and we're expected to trust them with our lives.

Complaints at the terminals are met with blank, stoic, vacant expressions and excuses layered upon excuses. The tactic is that if someone complains then they just keep repeating themselves. If that doesn't work then just tell the customer to complain on the website. If that doesn't work then just blame someone else. If that doesn't work then just repeat yourself over and over and ignore the customer. Gautrain's way of dealing with issues is not to deal with issues, because that would require actually working.

Now I've just had R250 ****** from my bank card by Gautrain, who have accused me of scanning in and out with two different cards - I have not, because R250 is a terrible waste of money over something so absolutely stupid, firstly, and secondly I don't have that kind of money to just throw away - nobody does. I complained and they just repeated themselves and ignored me and ignored the information I provided and blamed other people and were generally unconcerned with solving any issues.

When travelling elsewhere in the world, even a neighboring country, I have never experienced such poor service quality and such narcissistic service from staff. They openly gaslight you, with a smile, and think you don't realize.

In 14 years, since the original construction of the Gautrain, they have not completed the route or expanded the service over the country. They have not done any good by the people of South Africa and they have no ambition to, because they are only concerned about their profits and their money.

Their website still does not work properly. The company is literally just a mountain of red flags.

WORST.