Greyhound, Citiliner shutting shop after 37 years on the road

Greyhound and Citiliner announced on Wednesday that they are closing down in the next two weeks.

In social media posts, the bus company said services would be discontinued from February 14. The company said it would refund all passengers with tickets booked for services after then.

Greyhound was the first luxury coach operator to start an intercity scheduled service, as far back as 1984. Its network covers all major cities in SA as well as Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, and Maputo in Mozambique.

Citiliner is a division of Greyhound that started operating in 2005, with scheduled services to Mthatha as well as Harare and Bulawayo. The semi-luxury coach transported more than 500,000 passengers annually over eight million kilometres.

Some people voiced their concerns about the closure, with some blaming the lockdown.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Advancing Worker Justice and Legacy said it was concerned about the closure of Greyhound and Citiliner, “and the job losses that this news comes with”.

“This will lead to hundreds of workers losing their jobs and adding to the ever-growing rate of unemployment in the country. The institute is calling for the minister of transport to intervene to save the workers from job losses,” it said in a statement.

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