Mad rush to catch rides out of the City of Gold

WITH only one day left to Christmas, the last-minute rush is very much on yesterday with people still making travel arrangements and shopping.

All the public transport hubs in central Johannesburg were marked with what seemed like never-ending queues of people waiting to leave.

The Wanderers Street taxi rank teemed with thousands of people hoping to catch a ride out of the city and head home.

"I travel to Bloemfontein every day and I make two loads a day during the festive season since it's so busy," said taxi driver Manquzu Zwane.

Zwane says though the volumes of people have gone up this year the crashes weren't as bad as the ones he'd seen in previous years.

"The accidents are better this year, there are still there but not as many as last year especially," he said.

Many people told Sowetan work was the reason they left travelling and shopping to the last minute.

"I only closed work today and I didn't have time before this and flying is expensive so that is why we'd rather take a taxi even though we have to sit in line for most of the day," said Constance Maluleka, who was travelling to Maputo.

The Park Station bus terminal was also a hive of activity with almost all the long distance coaches fully booked.

"We see a lot of tourists coming into Park Station every year but this time around there is a large number of backpackers coming in for help with accommodation and travel arrangements," said an assistant at the Joburg Tourism counter.