Disappointed In Service

On April 23rd I was a first time traveler with Intercape on bus 706 from Johannesburg to Springbok with my wife and my two kids. This experience was great until we got off the bus to use the Lavatory facilities as the bus toilet was really filthy. When we returned in less than 10min the bus was no longer there. The other guy that got off the bus said i told the bus driver that we are not there but he left anyway. So i ran after the bus just as it was about to get on the road, i banged on the bus side to get the attention of the bus driver, but he kept going. So i ran like my life depended on it, coz it did. I ran next to the bus driver pleading and asking him to stop the bus telling him that all my stuff is on the bus but he responded "It's not my problem" That's when i gave up and looked at my wife and kids running on a main road and i see how afraid they are as this bus left us in the middle of no-where, with nothing our wallets, phones and all our clothes was on this bus. Than about 200 meters down the road the bus stops and we run again afraid to miss this bus. After getting on the bus my wife asked why didn't he tell us that the bus will not stop for long. This bus driver and co-drivers doesn't want to say sorry instead they wanted to argue. My wife argued with them for another 10 min as i was just to upset, shocked and tired to say anything. My children have been traumatized by this experience. When i got back into the bus the lady in front of us told me that the same thing happened to her on a previous trip. I mean people on the bus shouted for the driver to stop the bus but he continued on.

My disappointment comes from the fact that the driver did not communicate anything to the passengers regarding how long this bus will stand there, coz if he did we would not have gotten off in the first place. Secondly after i ran next to him on the road asking him to stop his response "is not my problem" and thirdly also why after i got his attention he stops only 200 meters later. After hearing the other passengers urge him to stop also. This also seemed to me like an attempt to ***** my luggage (it is South Africa after all) and finally this seemed like a regular thing that's been happening to other people for a while now. I mean there are people trusting these bus companies with their children sending them on long trips alone. Some never made it and now we know why...

I contacted Intercape to tell them about my experience and i received an e-mail back from Jessica who could only tell me that where i got off was not a stop for the busses its only a pickup and or drop off. I didn't know this as it was my first time on this bus plus there was no communication from the bus driver or his co-drivers as they all seemed to be very - i mean extremely rude after this dilemma.

My concern are for children traveling alone, if we cant trust the bus driver and co-drivers to ensure that we get to our destinations safely, than who can we trust.

Concerned Traveler Jody Davids