Tourism Grade 11

Term 1- Week 6
What learners need to know about the tourism bus industry

Tourism The Tourism Bus Industry:

Sectors • Major tourist transporters,
• Different types of buses: minibuses, coaches, special purpose buses such
as open-top buses for sightseeing
• Information provided on bus schedules

Assessed in the Exam: Section D and Question 1

The Tourism bus industry

LESSON 1: Major tourist transporters

The tourism bus industry background and major tourist transporters

Background:
The tourism bus industry plays an important role in the tourism industry as
it offers tourist affordable, comfortable means of being able to travel to
different destinations. Transport preferences are dependent on the tourist
needs. Some tourism bus services offered to tourists come in the form of
minibuses, coaches, special- purpose buses, charter buses, open-top
buses for sightseeing, shuttle services, Baz bus. Remember in grade 10
modes of transport was done as a baseline to understanding the tourism
transport industry and now in grade 11 tourism transport industry is dealt
with in detail. Thus these lessons solely focuses on “The tourism bus
industry”.

The different types of buses

There are different types of buses that tourists in South Africa can use for
different purposes. The choice of bus depends on factors such as the
tourists needs and preferences, budget and also purpose of travel as well
as desired destination.

1
 The Following are the type of buses with examples of transporters.
Minibuses
 Minibuses are a common form of transport in South Africa also
known as taxis, which are commonly used by commuters to get to
work from home.
 Minibuses used as “taxis” don’t have scheduled stops, they are
operated by taxi associations which indicate the routes that taxi
driver follows.
 Minibus taxis are for a short journey within a town or city or between
towns and even between provinces or to neighboring countries.
 However, minibus businesses for tourism purposes are growing in
the tourism industry offering the services of taking tourists to
attractions in an area.

Below is an example of a
minibus operating as tourist
bus transport – the Bokbus
operating in the Garden route
area.

Coaches
Coaches are a form of bus which takes longer journeys

The main coach companies operating in South Africa:

● SA Roadlink used to offer super luxury bus through a network of cities
within South Africa and neighbouring countries. But SA Roadlink is no
longer operating services stopped in 2014 and went into liquidation
(bankruptcy) 2015.
● Greyhound buses but has however stopped transporting passengers in
February 2021.
● Intercape operates bus brands such as: Sleepliner, Mainliner, private
Coach hire and parcel service. Since September 2019 they also offer
Budgetliners

2
● The Sleepliner offers has unique sleeper seats while the Mainliner
offers standard seating. See the pictures below of the different brands –
look at the names on the sides

of the busses.

Sleepliners Mainliners
Budgetliners below

● The following are the features of the Intercape Sleepliner:

 Seats recline 150 degrees
 Seats have padded memory foam
 Extra legroom with leg rest
 Reserved Seating
 Air conditioning
 On-board toilet
 Secure luggage storage
 Trained professional drivers
 Safe travel environment and unbeatable safety record

3
  Easy 24-hour reservation facility
 Audio and visual entertainment
 Discounts for families, students, children and senior citizens
 Seats fitted with seat belts
 USB Charging Points
● Autopax operates the brands City-to-City and Translux. City-to-City is a
semi-luxury service while Translux is a luxury inter-city coach.

Activity 1:

1. Briefly explain the TWO different uses of minibuses (4)

2. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:

After 37 years in service, South

Africa's most popular bus service,
Greyhound, will stop operating. But
travellers still have many other
options for intercity travel, including
other buses which offer cheaper
fares than Greyhound.09 Feb 2021
Luke Daniel -Business Insider SA
(Getty images)

2.1 State the name of the popular bus service that has stopped operating (1)

2.2 Mention another major bus service that is no longer operational in

South Africa. (1)

2.3 Based on the two bus services that are no longer operational mention
other alternative bus (coach services) available for travellers (4)

3. Coaches usually travel long-haul inter-city routes. Explain what the term (2)
“inter-city” means.

4. Study the advert below and answer the questions that follow:

4
 4.1 Give the name of the Buscompany. (1)

4.2 Give the name of this specific busline of the companyy. (1)

4.3 In your opinion, what is the menaing of the 4 stars. (2)

4.4 Name FOUR features of this spesific busliner. (4)

[20]

LESSON 2: Special- purpose buses

Charter buses

● Charter buses are private buses hired out for to suit the needs of the
clients.
● Charter buses are often used for group tours.

● International and domestic tourist use charter buses

● Charter buses follow a specific itinerary to suit the needs of the group.

● Type of charter bus depends on the size of the group, the buses usually
come in 14,21,33, or 44 passengers.

Open-top buses for sightseeing

● Cape Town and Johannesburg have open- top sightseeing used for
sightseeing.
● The bus is red in colour with an open on top, so that passengers can sit
in the open air
● When tourists use the city sightseeing bus, they are given Hop- on and
Hop off tickets
● The Hop on-Hop off enable tourists to get off at any of the stops near
the attraction they want to visit.
● Once they have visited the attraction, they return to the bus stop and
wait for the next bus to proceed to the next attraction. Buses run every
day and there is a bus available every 20 minutes.
● Examples of City-sightseeing bus routes in Johannesburg

5
 Explore Johannesburg “City of Gold” with over 16 bus stops taking you
to over 20 of Johannesburg top attractions.

Johannesburg City sightseeing bus offers three kind of tours:

Green Tour:
Starting point: Rosebank Sunday
Market -Zoo lake – Johannesburg
Zoo-Military Museum End point:
Constitution Hill.
City Tour :
Constitution Hill- Carlton Centre -
Apartheid museum
Soweto Tour:
Known as the “New York of Africa”
Highlights of Soweto tour:
 FNB Stadium, Diepkloof, Chris Hani
Baragwanath Hospital, Bara Taxi
Rank, Orlando Towers, Hector
Pietersen Memorial, Vilakazi Street,
 Kliptown Open Air Museum

The Cape Town City site seeing bus offers three kinds of routes in
and around Cape Town and 30 stops.
 Cape Town City Tour to Table
Mountain
 Mini Peninsula Tour-takes place at
the back of table mountain’s
Southern slopes which include
Kirstenbosch gardens
 Constantia Valley Wine bus- The
tour takes you to three wine stops:
Groot Constantia, Eagles' Nest and
Beau Constantia
 Features on the bus include: on-
board audio commentary in 15
languages (English, Afrikaans,
Arabic, French, German, Dutch,
Italian, Japanese, Mandarin,
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish,
Swedish, Turkish and Zulu)
A special audio channel for kids to .
enjoy

Shuttle Services

Shuttle services/bus

6
 Shuttle bus is a bus that travels regularly between two places. For
example, between the airport and accommodation. Shuttle is flexible - it
runs at times and on routes that the clients need.

Baz Bus

 The Baz Bus is a hop-on hop-off bus service from Johannesburg to

Cape Town via Durban, Port Elizabeth and many other towns (more
than 40 in total), stopping at many backpacker hostels on the way.
 Not only is it convenient for anybody wanting to see the South Africa,
but you also travel with like-minded crazed backpackers, and get driven
right to the door of your youth hostel (in South African that is the safe
way to travel).
 The Baz Bus company uses 19-22-seater coaches to transport tourists.
Disadvantages of Baz Bus
 At peak times, you have to book your seat well ahead.
 The Baz buses are a little more cramped than Intercape and Greyhound
busses.
 It is more expensive than taking a Greyhound, Intercape bus between
cities; but they don't operate a hop-on hop-off system

Advantages of Baz Bus

 You get to meet other backpackers.
 No need to do route planning and buy maps.
 You can snog and doze away whilst someone else does the driving.
 You can spontaneously decide to jump off at any town on route, should
you see a place that inspires you to do so.
 There is an on-board video player.
 No need to rent a car, navigate on your own and possibly get lost
 This saves fuel costs and reduces your carbon footprint.
 Baz Bus will take you straight to your backpacker youth hostel (no
need to carry bags between hostels and train or bus stations)

7
 Baz Bus route map and stops.

Activity 2:

1. State THREE routes travelled by the City sightseeing in Johannesburg. (3)

2. A German tourist would like to explore the city of Cape Town;

recommend the most suitable bus he can use that will give him a
maximum value for money experience. Motivate with TWO reasons for
your choice. (4)

3. State the THREE routes travelled by the City sightseeing bus in the
Mother City (Cape Town). (3)

4. The German tourist arrives at Cape Town International Airport, needs to

make way to his respective hotel. Recommend the most suitable type of (2)
transport that can transport him to his hotel.

5. Zinzi a backpacker tourist is interested in exploring South Africa trough

using backpacker friendly transport that is also complemented by
backpacker friendly accommodation hostels. Provide Zinzi with the
name of the bus service that suits her interests. Provide a brief (4)
description of the bus service she should use.

6. State TWO advantages of using Baz Bus. (4)

7. State TWO disadvantages of using Baz Bus. (4)

[24]

Lesson 3

8
 Bus Schedules

 Schedules indicate departure and arrival times as well as prices

 A schedule is a list of stops arranged according to the time they will be
at that point. Nowadays schedules are found on the bus company
website as well as ticket sales booking offices.

Activity 3

Study the bus schedule below and answer the questions that follow:

3.1 Use the schedule and provide the following information:

3.1.1 Name of bus company (1)

3.1.2 Departure time and departure location (2)
3.1.3 Arrival time and arrival destination (2)
3.1.4 Date of departure (2)
3.1.5 Duration of the trip (1)

3.2 Explain the term “Mainliner” (2)

[10]

9
Self- Assessment 1 from Past examination Question Papers

10