- Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) suspended a driver after an 11-year-old Simon’s Town Primary school learner was left stranded.
- Lifalethu Mbasana and his siblings usually catch the bus to Makhaza, Khayelitsha around 14:30.
- Lifalethu couldn’t find his bus card and was told to get off the bus, leaving his siblings to travel home alone.
- Lifalethu trekked approximately 50 kilometres on foot and arrived home safely around 22:00.
The Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) has confirmed the suspension of a driver after an incident involving a young learner, Lifalethu Mbasana, who was left stranded in Simon’s Town on Monday.
Golden Arrow acts swiftly against vindictive bus driver
The 11-year-old, along with his two younger siblings aged 10 and seven, regularly uses the GABS bus to travel from Simon’s Town Primary to their home in Makhaza, Khayelitsha.
On this particular day, Lifalethu could not find his bus card when it was his turn to show it, and the driver instructed him to get off the bus, leaving his younger siblings to travel home alone.
The incident caused significant concern for Lifalethu’s family when it became clear he did not take a later bus and was not on the last bus home.
His mother contacted GABS and the police, initiating searches and patrols.
Fortunately, Lifalethu arrived home safely around 22:00 after walking approximately 50 kilometres on foot.
GABS spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer confirmed that the company’s policy is to assist uniformed scholars who lose their bus tickets, and the driver who failed to follow this policy has been suspended.
“In circumstances where unaccompanied minors are making use of our services, we would ask parents to assist us by ensuring that their children are able to contact them in an emergency situation and that they advise their children on what to do in a situation where they are not able to catch their bus for whatever reason,” Dyke-Beyer said.
How Lifalethu Mbasana trekked 50km on foot
Lifalethu Mbasana’s ordeal began when he and his siblings boarded the bus they usually take at around 14:30. While his siblings were able to tap their bus cards and board, Lifalethu couldn’t find his card.
The driver, adhering strictly to policy without considering the circumstances, told Lifalethu to get off the bus.
Lifalethu, without a cellphone to contact his parents, was left stranded and had to navigate his way home on foot.
His youngest sibling managed to call their mother from the bus to inform her that Lifalethu had been left behind.
Lifalethu’s mother, Siba Mbasana, expressed the family’s distress over the incident.
She explained that Lifalethu was with his siblings when the driver ordered him off the bus, which left his younger siblings to make the journey home alone.
She immediately contacted her husband, who was in Silvermine, but he did not have a car to search for their son.
“He sent his friend because he didn’t have a car to go and look for the boy around the school, around everywhere, they couldn’t find him,” she told EWN.
It wasn’t until later that evening that a police officer spotted Lifalethu just five minutes away from home, bringing relief to his worried family.
Golden Arrow Bus Service has taken this incident seriously, with Dyke-Beyer stating that the company is reviewing all mechanisms related to lost scholar tickets to ensure such an incident does not happen again.
“We have also undertaken to review all of our mechanisms which are related to lost scholar tickets and to ensure that protocol is followed in such cases,” Dyke-Beyer said.