- A Golden Arrow bus driver is under disciplinary action after refusing an 11-year-old boy a ride home because he lost his bus ticket, forcing him to walk from Simon’s Town to Khayelitsha.
- The incident sparked outrage on social media, leading to the company’s confirmation that the driver did not follow the policy of assisting uniformed scholars in such situations.
- Golden Arrow has since been in touch with the boy’s family and emphasised the importance of registering children’s bus cards and having emergency plans in place.
A Golden Arrow bus driver is facing disciplinary action after a minor was forced to walk home alone from Simon’s Town to Khayelitsha for losing his bus ticket.
Lifalethu Mbasana (11), a Simon’s Town school learner, was refused a bus ride on Monday 22 July.
His two younger siblings raised the alarm when they told their mom shortly after arriving home, sparking a social media plea to find the missing child.
“This is my son…he is 11 years old doing Grade 6 in Simon’s Town Primary School,” his mother wrote. “He was supposed to take a bus from Simon’s Town to Makhaza at 14:30 but was kicked out of the bus because he lost his bus ticket, he is still not home.”
Residents reacted angrily on social media, demanding the bus driver be disciplined.
“Please take this up with the company and they can discipline the driver. This should never be allowed to happen.”
Another resident agreed: “Which bus service kicks a minor off for goodness sake?”
While a third person commented on how traumatic it must have been for a young child. “What a traumatic experience for this young boy. That heartless driver deserves to be fired with immediate effect.”
Company policy
Commenting on the incident Golden Arrow Bus spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer said the driver failed to follow company policy.
“Golden Arrow can confirm that company policy is to assist uniformed scholars in situations where they have lost their Gold Cards and that the driver who failed to do so has been suspended,” she said. “We have undertaken to review all mechanisms related to lost scholar tickets to ensure that protocol is followed in such cases.”
Dyke-Beyer further added that Golden Arrow has been in touch with the family since the incident occurred.
She encouraged parents to register their children’s Gold Cards so they could be easily traced.
“In circumstances where unaccompanied minors are making use of our services, we 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,” she said.
“An example of this could be phoning their parents, returning to school, contacting the transport information centre or making their way to a police station.”
Meanwhile, in a statement, Simon’s Town school principal Lucresia Harrison thanked the community, teachers, parents and learners for their concern and quick action when the learner was discovered. “Thank you to everyone for your concern, love and care and the quick action and responses last night…we appreciate everyone’s support,” she said.
“The safety of our learners is of utmost importance and is always a priority.”
