Cape Town – Passengers on a long-distance bus say they have survived a 14-hour “hell drive” in a cockroach-infested vehicle.
Passengers travelling on the DMJ Transport bus from the Eastern Cape en route to Cape Town allege they had to stop for their wickets as hundreds of the disgusting brown insects crawled over them, their food and luggage.
And when they complained, they were allegedly told to “get off the bus or keep quiet”.
One video shows dozens of cockroaches scuttling on the bus floor and seats.
A cockroach walks against a bus window. Photo: Supplied
Sameer Vasta, 38, says he regularly uses DMJ Transport to travel between the Eastern Cape and Cape Town, but it was the first time he encountered “such horrors”.
He says the trouble started when they had to switch buses.
“The bus driver apologised to a full load of passengers, speaking in Xhosa, for the bus’s onboard cockroach infestation and for the fact that its air-condition systems were not functional,” Vasta claims.
“The driver also indicated that this particular bus was en route to Cape Town to be repaired and cleaned and that management had taken a firm decision not to transport it there without a minimum quantity of fare-paying passengers so they do not suffer any financial loss,” Vasta added.
DMJ Transport did not respond to Daily Voice queries by Monday night.
However, it did respond to Vasta’s emailed complaint, apologising “for the bad experience you have encountered on one of our buses...”
“Passengers are very important to DMJ Transport, we were not aware of that situation and will make it our priority to correct that,” read the short email, signed by one Nonzuzo Jwambi.