It's hard to picture a festive season or payday weekend without Greyhound buses on the road, as blue-collar workers head home - but this is a reality many will soon face.

KAP Industrial Holdings said it would stop its Greyhound and Citiliner services this month after 37 years in the industry, bringing an end to its annual ferry of 804 293 passengers across 25-million kilometres of road, from Cape Town to KwaZulu-Natal, Maputo and Zimbabwe. 

In a statement on Wednesday evening, KAP expressed regret at having to close down the Greyhound and Citiliner services.

"Declining passenger numbers and poor regulatory compliance in the bus passenger industry has resulted in both brands incurring significant operating losses for several years," said Jasen Smallbone, COO of KAP subsidiary, Unitrans. 

The situation was exacerbated by the Covid-19 lockdowns, which limited travel and the closure of Mozambique and Zimbabwe's borders, added the company. KAP also said it struggled to return the brands to profitability despite reducing its operating costs, optimising routes and introducing new technology and coaches.

"In addition, the company was unsuccessful in its attempts to sell the Greyhound and Citiliner operations," KAP said.

KAP, which boasts a market capitalisation of just over R9-billion, owns Unitrans, which the Greyhound, Citiliner, Mega Bus, Mega Coach, Bojanala Bus and Magic Transfers brands fall under. KAP's business is made up of the industrial, chemicals and logistics portfolio, which produces products such as mattresses, chemicals and plastics.

In its 2020 annual results, KAP highlighted the challenges it was having in its bus operation, saying that it was experiencing low passenger numbers and aggressive competition. Unitrans has found itself up against new entrants such as Travelstart-owned Eldo Coaches and Africa People Mover (APM) buses.

The gap left by Greyhound and low-cost brand Citiliner is likely to be filled by competitors such as Intercape, Translux and City to City, but their exit takes away two options for people who were dependent on buses for their travel.

For transport economist Ofentse Mokwena, the closure of the brands highlights government's lack of attention and genuine concern on the country's long-distance transport market and is "painful to witness".

'We talk about [urban] minibus taxis a lot … we don't talk about the long-distance market, we talk about Prasa [Passenger Rail Agency of SA], but we don't talk about the long-distance passenger rail market, which is Shosholoza Meyl. 

"We sort of talk about Metrorail and what's happening in Johannesburg, but we don't talk about what it means for such a highly subsidised division of Prasa," Mokwena said.

Prasa has had a troubled few years, resulting in it collapsing and being placed under administration two years ago, this impacted people who relied on its services.

Mokwena added that the closure of the bus services showed how dependent South Africa is on tourism and migration, with people moving between provinces over long distances to between work and their families. 

"Long distances have been at the backbone of the South African economy, when you see something like Greyhound falling apart, that's what you are seeing, you are seeing the cost of cutting of migration, tourism and the long-distance commute," he said.

The biggest question Mokwena asked was why people were living far away from their families and places of work.  

"It could be said, people can't afford living close to where they work. And the moment that happens, it is almost cheaper to pay the R560 return every weekend. It's a tough conversation to have but it's the reason why you've got a long-distance taxi industry that is flourishing in terms of their margins. They are taking advantage of this massive gap," he said.

He also questioned how a company as big as Greyhound that had the backing of KAP, would have to shut down and whether its competitors such as Eldo Coaches and Intercape were also struggling.

'TRAGEDY'
Cosatu's parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks described the closure of the bus services as a "tragedy". 

"While this may be a result of Covid-19 and the economic pain it has brought, it is also an indictment upon government which has failed to reduce unemployment over the last 27 years and of business which has shown little regard for the need to create jobs," Parks said.

He added the closure would create problems for migrant workers who depended on the buses to travel to South Africa's far-flung areas and for tourism and trade with neighbouring states.