First let me say; this review is long over due. I was meant to have published it on the 16th December 2016 (the first time I travelled with APM) but I was waiting till I've travelled with it some more. I wanted to give it another chance to redeem itself. I didn't want to misjudge the poor bus service based on one seemingly bad experience.
So far I've used it three times...
In this review i'm not only focusing on the bad,i'll include the good as well-however briefly that will be.
Booking/Reservation: No form of identification is required, the first time I booked my ticket all the saleswoman wanted was my money, nothing more. "Isn't this a bit risky?"- i asked myself even though i wasn't carrying my ID with me at that moment, i didn't consider it luck that they didn't want one incase i didn't have it at my person, i was thinking about my safety.
Price: I paid R350 for a 1 way bus ticket from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg. I was over the moon,I am a cheapskate afterall- the last time i travelled long distance for such a low price, Boom Shaka was still a thing.
Me inside the bus rethinking all my life choices, including this one(for the third time).
Coach: Toilet: the bus is semi-luxurious. It has a clean toilet with a sensor flush- as a person of technology i was impressed by that aaaaaaaand that's the only luxurious thing about this bus. There are so many things wrong with the interior- its like travelling on a City to City with a beautiful toilet.
Seats:In other buses I've travelled with, I've sat on the last seat next to the toilet, not because i enjoy watching people move in an out of the garbage can but because the seats are the best for some odd reasons. Be warned with APM though. Those seats are not easy to recline and when you do manage to recline them they only do so 0.03%, like the rest of the seats in the bus. This is frustrating for long-distance travel.
Study lights: They do not work-ever. You can't read or watch what you are snacking on. You just sit there and think the whole night about the meaning of life and the origin of the universe.
USB charging ports: This was a good gimmick yeah, i literally ran to book my ticket after i heard someone who gladly gave a testimony concerning this. The ports don't work, APM sold me dreams on this one.
Luggage compartment: Everything is messy underneath those buses. Bags are all over the place.
Speed: The coach travels at a higher speed, they give you this impression that you will get to your destination in no time, first time it kind of reminded me of being in a Roadlink but in APM's case the speed was futile coz we arrived 2 hours after scheduled time. I could have just walked all the way.
Entertainment: Don't underestimate the power of boredom on these buses. You may think, “Oh, how lovely it will be to look out the window for the whole afternoon straight and be totally at one with nature then i can talk to my seating buddy the rest of the journey…” Trust me, there are only so many mountains and fields you can look at before you get totally fed up of looking outside, also i don't know what the demographic is but inside the APM buses I've been in there was no sparkling conversation, no life while travelling. Make sure you bring all your devices i.e Cellphone, Laptop, Kindle, Powerbanks,etc.
APM will attempt to alleviate boredom by playing some movies that no-one has ever seen and the ones people have seen are all rated less than 20% on RottenTomatoes, trust me-i checked.
Drivers: I don't really know whether to blame it on the bus service being new or amateur drivers. The bus drivers don't talk to passengers, they seem sluggish and bored with their work. There are no bus attendants to take care of people especially the grannies in the bus-we all know they have lots of questions and concerns. Just 2 drivers all the way through.
My verdict:
I hope as time goes by APM will live up to their motto! but for the time being they are INFERIOR. UNSAFE. PRETENTIOUS
Will i stop using it?- Probably not! Its a bargain!
