I always love using public transport when I travel--it's cheap, it's fun, and I get to see a side of the city I generally wouldn't.
People who use the minibuses in South Africa are almost always black or coloured--mothers and babies, men and women travelling to and from work, etc. The only white people I have seen on minibuses appear to be international students like myself (but this has only happened twice).
To catch a minibus, you generally just have to stand there because any and every bus will honk and yell to see if you want a ride. Each bus has a sign in their front dashboard telling what direction or area they're headed. There are two people who are "in charge" of each bus--the driver and the guy who yells out the widow, opens the door, collects fare, and tells the driver where you want to be dropped off. Most rides within the city cost R5 (about $0.70) and rides out to the townships usually cost about R12.
Minibuses out to the townships operate slightly differently. There is only a driver, no caller-out-the-window-guy. Buses to townships don't leave the station until it's full--which means that not only is every seat occupied, but also at every aisle, a wooden board (covered with a cushion if you're lucky) is place between the two aisle seats to create another place for extra passengers.
Collecting fare is different too--everyone already knows how much the fare costs (which means I have to ask the person next to me) and they pass their fare to the person on their left. Everyone makes change among themselves if they can, and pass it up to the front. The passenger sitting next to the driver collects all the money and sends back change when needed.
This method works less on the "honor system" and more on "community methods of justice." Everyone watches to make sure that everyone pays up, and if you don't, shit will go down (for lack of a better phrase).
But because I stick out as an obvious foreigner, people are much nicer and more lenient if I don't understand the system. Once I paid the wrong fare--it took a little for the man counting fare to realize, but once they figured out they had come up short and then realized it was my fault--there was a laughing comment in Xhosa and then they politely explained the problem. Sometimes, being foreign is a good thing!
Which leads me to when being foreign is NOT a good thing. Because I'm not going to lie and act like minibuses are 100% safe. When I know where I'm going and don't need to ask for help, I try to say as little as possible so not to give away my American accent. But I'm sure that it's not just my accent that gives it away that "I ain't from 'round here..." Being a foreign white woman, I become an easy target and it really is just a matter of time before someone tries to take advantage of you.
Which is why I am astounded that the UNC program is having minibuses be the mode of transport for many of the students going to their internships. Using minibuses everyday, at the same time, going to the same place by yourself is stupid and it's setting yourself up for something bad to happen. This isn't just my opinion--going out to the townships the locals were shocked to hear I used public transport to get out there and always have words of caution. Beyond the risk of crime, these buses aren't the most well kept and minibus crashes occur, perhaps not "often" but more than should happen.
This means I have a tough balance to figure out with minibuses. For one thing, it's just too expensive to get out to places by private taxi (and I also don't like the image of rolling up to a township in a private taxi). And minibuses are so convenient as well--you never have to wait for long, it's incredibly cheap, and takes you where you need to go. And I like going against a pretty racist/classist system. I like having street cred :)
But you do need to be cautious. And take steps to protect yourself from shady situations.
So things I avoid are empty buses, always getting off before being the last passenger, and trying to avoid bringing attention to myself. And at the end of the day, accepting that although it is possible to become a victim of crime, it's better than living in a glass box and not experiencing the world around you.
Riding the minibus has dramatically lessened my apprehension and fear of poverty, townships, and the people who live there. I realize that people from all walks of life have IPods, text constantly, have children they love and care for, and that I can find community everywhere. People are generally not "out to get you," and I have consistently found helpful and kind people everywhere I go.
Americans generally live in a bubble-wrapped world. And I think it's worth it to get a little bumped and bruised in order to pop a few of those protections and get out there and truly live.
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