A Milnerton father says a long-distance bus company has left his disabled wife and two children stranded in Klerksdorp after cancelling their trip to Cape Town.
Clinton Booysen’s family was supposed to board a bus on Saturday, only for Ilula Bus Service in Marconi Beam to cancel its trip at the last minute.
“I moved to Cape Town two months ago. My daughter bought four bus tickets for them via Computicket for Saturday,” Clinton said. “My wife then got a SMS stating the bus is cancelled.
The Booysens were then told that the bus would leave at 8.30pm on Sunday, but again no bus showed up, leaving them stranded in the North West province.
“They were sitting at the bus stop till 3am. My wife and son are both physically disabled and they were nearly robbed because the bus company did not let them know what was going on,” Clinton said.
“All of them are now living with a relative in a one-bedroom flat. I spent R2 300 on the four tickets and the company didn’t answer their phones.
“They put my family in danger and I just started to work and spent my first salary to get them here,” the upset father added.
His wife, son, daughter and the latter’s boyfriend were supposed to make the trip to Cape Town.
Wife Belinda has been waiting for two months to reunite with her husband, only for the bus company to take them for a ride.
“This is so frustrating. Klerksdorp is cold at night and now my son has the flu. I was so excited, we waited and waited but no Ilulla bus came past,” she explained.
Despite multiple attempts to reach the bus company, Clinton said he could not get a hold of a representative.
“I even went to the address that was supplied [in Printer’s Way, Marconi Beam] and they are not there anymore,” he added.
The Daily Voice contacted the company via email, and after several phone calls, a woman who withheld her name answered and stated the owner is in East London and could not be reached.
A helpless Clinton says he doesn’t know what to do anymore: “I don’t know who to turn to, my family is stranded in Klerksdorp and I’m struggling to get hold of Ilulla Bus Service.”
byron.lukas@inl.co.za