Trip to Soccer City

The other day I decided to go check out Soccer City, one of the stadia hosting the World Cup in Johannesburg. The guy who had done the construction and wiring on the room I rented was at the house and offered to give me a ride. I gave him about $7 for the ride, which he was pumped about.

He dropped me off at the stadium, which is out near Soweto, the infamous township. The stadium was really impressive up close. Even from far away. I walked around for a while and just observed it and its surroundings.




Johannesburg CBD in the distance.

There's a train station nearby and two BRT stations for the city's new bus system. I assumed these would be working and I'd be able to get back home. I was wrong.

So I ended up catching a minibus. The driver said he'd give me a ride to another guy who was going downtown, which seems shady but is status quo here. It's like a bus transfer. But then I told him how I was disappointed the BRT wasn't ready and he sad he'd take me to the next station down the line. This station was right in the middle of a freeway and next to some of the small homes that make up Soweto. I paid about 6 rand, or less than a dollar, and got my ticket and went into the BRT station. About five minutes later I was on a fancy new bus back to town. Only white dude again. Seems to be the way public transit is here. And lots of places, I guess.