This Bus Is The Business

The minibus is as much part of our South African DNA as the double-cab bakkie, but it’s not always top of mind when people think of buying a new family car. The Ford Tourneo Custommight just change a few minds…

- Pierre Steyn

Soldiers, surgeons, firefighters and airline pilots are supposed to have some of the most stressful jobs on earth. Your life – and somebody else’s – is always on the line! I’d like to add another: bus driver.

As a youngster in Cape Town, I’d occasionally catch a ride in a double-decker City Tramways bus. The ungainly and painfully slow Leyland would wallow its way through the narrow streets of the city, the sweating driver manipulating the huge steering wheel like a helmsman on a stormy sea. It didn’t look like fun.

I decided two things at that young age: There must be an easier way to make a living; and I don’t ever want to drive a bus. Regarding point one: My first real job was that of a crime reporter – so much for “easy”ways to making a living! And it turns out that I needn’t have worried about point two either, because driving a bus – at least a modern van like the Ford Tourneo – is both simple and remarkably stress-free. This is good news for a small business owner like a tour operator, who needs to transport up to seven passengers in comfort over long distances. It’s even better if you’ve got a big family or you need a lot of space for an outdoor lifestyle: camping gear, surfboards, bicycles and the like.