Intercape
reviews and complaints

The bus from Cape Town to Johannesburg was stuck in Wolmerans, about 280 kilometers from Johannesburg, around 6:30 a.m. today. The replacement bus did not arrive until 14:00.

Previously the most trusted bus service, it is now the most incompetent and disgusting service. They are still using buses from 30 years ago that are frequently stuck on the road. The backup bus arrived almost a day later. It's heartbreaking to see such a successful company run itself into the ground.

I was 10 minutes late and have to get an affidavit from SAPS and a hospital admittance letter and still the refund or rebooking was denied.

I was traveling long distance on this bus, it was to be a 26 hour drive from pmb to cape Town and I felt extremely ill... I walked to the bus driver and asked him can we please make a stop I am suffering and need pain killers as soon as possible, he said OK and waved his hand. 5 hours went by I could not even stand at this point, I was blacking out, my daughter who was not even allowed to sit next to me was so traumatized over me blacking out from pain. All I could do was message intercape desperate for help. The driver pulls over and asks in isizulu who's sick here, I had asked someone to translate as I didn't understand. By the time I got my information he was gone. He came again straight to me and looked at me with disgust saying is it you that is sick I said yes he clicked his tongue and walked off then we stopped and I bought what I needed then he looked at me when I entered and said are you fine now, again. Looking pissed off.

As we get to pmb the next day I noticed my daughter was robbed by the lady that she sat next to as she did not have her phone with her and other belongings. I tried to contact intercape in case I was wrong to please check the bus before it goes on other trips and I have been ignored up until now. The charges did not work on the bus as well and our phones died and had no way to charge...they play loud music as they drive all through the night. It was the worst experience ever I will never go with them again and I warn anyone else thinking to use them as well

I purchased two tickets for my two daughters to come from Vereeniging to George. I did not know where the bus departs from in Vereeniging. I indicated that to your agent who assisted me do payment with my card. I paid R2600.00 and on that day was loadshedding. I then indicated to her and requested that full ticket details (including departure point) be sent by sms as I need to communicate to my daughter in Vereeniging. But an sms indicating only that Bus departs from Vereeniging was sent. After that was loadshedding. I then got the e-mail a few minutes before 4pm which was already late for my daughter to get to the bus on time. I then called on the day requesting to move their travelling day to another day, but was advised to lodge a complaint first so that intercape investigates and give me their decision. I then registered my dissatisfaction as this delayed my daughter who needed to come for medical attention. I then received an email from a certain gentleman called Prinsloo, and this guy is just biased and is not helping in anyway.

May I have the two passengers' journey rescheduled as I need them to come to George ASAP.

Regards

Mafa

Cell : [protected]

Told to wait for next bus even though we were in the line & checked in for the double-decker bus.

Most horrible experience on the bus we were put on... Unhygienic, horrible urine smell that was nauseating & when we complained to the staff lady at Pietermaritzburg station was told that the toilet is only for urine not number 2 & that's why. It's like she didn't even listen & seemed to blame the passengers for the poor cleaning (no cleaning, actually) & unhygienic condition of the bus.

Seats also didn't recline as advertised. Booked the full functionality (3 tickets at R770) Extremely misrepresented & overcharged for the poor quality.

The Durban Bus Depot is horribly filthy too.

Got off at Montrose when we stopped & made other arrangements as the smell was unbearable.

Will never use your service again & you have totally put me off bus travel too!

Disgruntled & Nauseated

I explained my complaint and got a call the lady was nothing but rude to me apparently it’s my fault my luggage got lost and. The driver is now denying it he is now saying I had one luggage which if fine I’m now forced to take legal actions against the company the lady said im more than welcome to do so

Apparently my “husband” was the one who put my luggage in the bus,firstly I’m not married I’m only 19 and the driver is the one that fetched me from the car no one else because he said we were running late. I did not want to do so but I’m forced as a client and a passenger I’m not happy at all about how this matter was addressed being in the space that I have lost all my valuables

On 05/10/2022 at 02:15 at Estcourt the bus left me and stopped at another stop which was not on my bus ticket regardless of it not being my fault but I drove there to avoid further complications

When I get to Johannesburg one of my luggage is missing and the driver says he did not put on a tag on it and also did not see who took it

All in all the service was the worst and I don’t recommend Intercape buses and please may I have my luggage or I’ll be forced to take further actions

I booked a ticket from Vanderbijlpark to Bellville for my niece to visit me. Her sleepliner bus (2106 IS) was due to arrive on Fri 30 Sep 2022 19:25pm in Vanderbilpark. I booked her the seat "1 on bus 1", which means she was to sit on the upper level, right in front next to a window. It was very, very important for me to have her sit there as she suffers from claustrophobia, which is why she cannot fly. I also opted not to book with Greyhound as one cannot pre-book seats, so Intercape seemed to be the best option as a luxury bus.

The bus was 35min late. Upon arrival, my niece was told that her seat was not available as her bus had broken down, and she was on bus 2104 and had to take whichever seat was available. The bus driver then realised that there was no seat available as there was a passenger on the bus that was meant to be on another bus to George. My niece then rode in front in the cockpit with the bus driver to Kroonvaal, where they then asked the "other" passenger to disembark. They then gave my niece his seat which was right at the back of the bus, next to the engine. My niece had a very difficult and emotionally draining journey. She was traumatised by the time she arrived here, and was very disappointed she was not able to sit in the seat I had booked for her. What was disappointing to me was that I had to initially CONVICE her that she should come visit us in Cape Town, and that the bus trip will be okay and that she did not have to worry about anything. To support her, we created a family WhatsApp group for the duration of her journey just to stay in touch and encourage her during her ordeal. After my niece returns on the 9th of October, I will most likely not use Intercape again. My poor niece.

Good day sir/madam

I have a complaint about one of your employees at Intercape Office Shell Ultra city Mthatha (N2) I came about 16:05 to check in, I got there and said I'm here to check in, she asked what time does my bus leave I said 16:30 she said the bus has left already I must rush to town, I swiftly moved to Mthatha Intercape Offices in town and when I got there I was told the bus just left, I went back to Shell Ultracity and the lady had a stinking attitude the moment she saw me then I asked her why did she say the bus has left, she said I didn't specify where I was going and for the fact she didn't even ask me where was I going, I told her she was wrong and she must apologize, she said she won't apologize if I like I must Complain

My booking ref B6H0R9DH my ID number [protected] my cell number [protected]

I'm not happy at all about her customer service and for the mere fact she told me that she won't admit that she is wrong and won't apologize

May this complaint be followed because I wasted my petrol doing up and down

Thank you

M.Malinde

[protected]

Hi

I'm in a bus 609 from port elizabeth date 24 September 2022 to Vanderbijlpark and the bus is dirty and smell very horrible that I wanted to book another bus but unfortunately for me it was the 3 of us and there is only 2 spaces left.

I initially booked a sleeper liner going to Port elizabeth and from Port Elizabeth to Vanderbijlpark but the cashier sold me incorrect tickets and I was told I had to check the codes; how was i supposed to

know which code is which?

Very Very frustrating and dissatisfied

I have noticed that intercape no longer cares about sticking to their routes.

For example, even if you book a ticket with a direct route that does not have a specific stop (stop shows on other tickets and routes), which is usually slightly more expensive, the bus will still make that stop if they can get a late booking or fill the seat.

This is unprofessional as people are choosing specific tickets to avoid these things.

This time i booked pmb - midrand direct route and not pmb - Ladysmith-midrand.

The bus still stopped in Ladysmith for 30 minutes, in that case I would have booked the cheaper ticket which stated that.

This is fraud and greed. Be professional!

I was suppose to board a bus from Mosselbay to Port Elizabeth yesterday at 13h55. I went to 3 buses and none of them were going to Port Elizabeth. I have been told that my bus is still coming from the driver thats on his way to Durban. When the call centre was called we were told the bus is already in George. I have been waiting since 13h35 and the lady on the phone said that the bus to Port Elizabeth arrived in Mosselbay at 13h54 and left at 14h21 that was the bus going to Durban so if that bus was suppose to stop in Port Elizabeth since it was the only bus there at that time why did driver only told me he is going to Durban. Because i asked him about Port Elizabeth. I think its unfare to pay for the ticket if the fault was not on my side. I had to book another ticket for today. Please advise

Regards

Jackie

Goodday i like to file a complaint. My name is veronica visser i was today 07/08/2022 11:30 at the bus stop in kathu northen cape and i ask the bus driver if the bus goes to bloemfontein he told me no to durdan i must take the next bus and we wait for 3hours for the next one and that bus driver told he goes to pretoria i missed the bus to bloemfontein my bus ticket no is 07082206033B997 veronica visser

Intercape I think you have to respect your customers as they keep you in business. I boarded a bus on the 4th August 2022 from Mthatha to Johannesburg. When we were about to reach Mt Frere the bus got stuck on the way. Little or no apology did we receive from the driver who seemed to be so ruthless to all of us instead of explaining to us what exactly happened. In a nutshell even from the time the another bus arrived after hours being in waiting, no one from your crew apologize save for telling us to board the new bus,, even to tell us that they have shifted our bags. I had a trust in your company being highly expectant to receive professionalism of the highest level.

Incident happened on 28/07/2022.

The bus was supposed to arrive in Bloemfontein at 1:10a.m but arrived at 2:15 and we were not even informed of the delay.

They usually send sms's should a bus be delayed but not this time. We kept having to ask if the bus had arrived until they decided to check for us only because we are enquiring.

The bus didn't seem to be functioning well on the way to Johannesburg but the driver kept driving I guess hoping that it would be able to get us to our destination.

Just before we get to Kroonstad it got stuck at 5a.m. We could hear the driver speaking to someone telephonically which seemed as his manager to explain the situation then after the call he informed us that we were stuck and there's a mechanic coming to assist then if the mechanic fails, there'll be a bus being sent to rescue us. We have been stuck there with the mechanic filling up diesel but still the bus couldn't start then the driver came to tell us that we'll have to wait for another bus which is 190km away since it's coming from PTA and when we are being told this it was 7:15 meaning they only sent out a bus at that time instead of immediately after receiving a call from the driver.

Intercape doesn't take it's passengers seriously. I had to start work at 8, the bus was supposed to have arrived at park station at 7 already. This is uncalled for. Buses need to be serviced this is unacceptable! We were in the bus with a lady that said it's the 3rd time she gets stuck using a intercape bus. One lady was speaking to someone on the phone who said they also got stuck. We can't be treated as if we don't pay to travel.

Dear cimplaints boad

I am sending you my complain about intercape bus. We were supposed to be in the bus at 20:15 pm at Cradock Total Garage on July 21, 2022. The bus did not arrived and we were not safe our lives were in danger and there was no communication from the customer service side as to why the bus is late.

Why do you not care about the lives of your customers? Why are not communicating in advance if the bus will be late or will not come so we can wait in our homes and not put our lives in danger?

Ticket Number: 2107220172WY508

I am very frustrated as I have an ulcer and hunger triggers it a lot. I took the bus from Cape Town CBD at 07:30 am and the bus only stopped twice for refreshments, the last time it stopped it was around 1:30 pm in Mosel Bay, we are now approaching P.E and we are not given any chance to grab something yet the bus is an hour behind from the time it should arrive on the stops.

Please review the refreshment stops and amend where possible as some of us are unable to pack food before travelling.

We were supposed to board the Intercape at 23:55 in Keetmanshoop, we arrived at 23:15 as we wanted to be early.

About 00:15 we went to use the ladies and the staff at the B1Engen shop informed us that the busses had allready left past 9 o’clock.

The assistant first accused me of being late but the ticket states that we should be half an hour earlier. Then all of a sudden he tried to make me believe a message was sent that was not even true or my number. Then he also informed us that the bus is currently in Grunau. We jumped in the car and drove off and informed him we are on our way to Noordoewer to catch the bus. At Grunau we phoned again, and a lady told me that the bus is allready at the border? The next available space is only a week later. Our Accomodation is allready fully paid and we are supposed to be on a tour with my 9 year old son.

This is the most unreliable, unforgiving thing intercape has put us through. I want all my money back including my accommodation! As we all know there are so many unresolved matters on your website that this is just another one. Intercape is a total scam

the ticket did not state under terms and conditions that there is no refund. it also did not state that you can move the ticket to the next bus 15 minutes before departure

The driver of the 220 sleepliner from cape Town to PE claims that when he stopped at knysna (my stop) he shouted from the upper deck of the bus that we are in knysna.

If he did shout he did NOT do it audibly enough for me to hear - I was sitting at the very back of the bus.

Because of this he has caused me to miss my stop and had to wait in plett do drive on a different bus back to knysna.

He claims that there were 3 passengers including myself booked for knysna on that bus but only 1 (me) boarded. Meaning he should have double checked.

I have forgot my laggadge bag on the bus that was comming from east london to cape town my arrival station was bellville and the last ticket number for bag was 811 and its a kway and the its navy. In side the is some clothes if a 14 yr old boy.