Greyhound closes operations in South Africa after 37 years
Transport group Greyhound has announced that its Greyhound and Citiliner bus operations will close in February 2021.
In a statement published on its website and social media platforms, Greyhound said that its services will run until 14 February 2021. The group said that passengers with tickets booked for services after this date will be refunded.
“All passengers who have tickets booked for services after this date will be refunded in full. For assistance with receiving your refund, contact our Call Centre 011 611 8000 or 087 352 0352 or email your ticket reference number and contact details to refunds@greyhound. co. za. It has been our pleasure connecting you across Southern Africa for the past 37 years. Thank you to all our passengers for your continued support.”
According to the group’s website, Greyhound was the first luxury coach operator to start an intercity scheduled service in South Africa as far back as 1984. The group said it now carries more than 14 million passengers a year over a distance of over 25 million km. The company thanked customers for 37 years of support and apologised for the inconvenience caused by the disruption.
Greyhound is the latest household name to close operations in South Africa as the Covid-19 pandemic and weak economy takes its toll. Last week media group Ster Kinekor said that it would enter voluntary business rescue as it continues to suffer due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.
The group said that up until February 2020, the business was profitable and highly cash generative, with good prospects of future and ongoing profitability from the pipeline of blockbuster film content that had been scheduled.
However, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent economic lockdown instituted by the South African government at the end of March 2020, all cinemas were required to shut down, and only permitted to reopen under strict conditions as from the end of August 2020. Ster Kinekor cinemas will remain operation during business recuse proceedings, however.
Retail group Clicks, meanwhile, announced that it also will be shutting down Musica in South Africa, after several years of decline. Clicks acquired the brand in 1992, where it was a leading entertainment brand in the country for many decades.
However, despite a shift in more recent years from selling physical media like CDs and DVDs to more general electronics and entertainment, it has not been able to keep pace with the rise of digital streaming and online entertainment.
This has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the group said, which resulted in a massive drop in foot traffic over the last year.
