Transport in SA

One things that really surprises me is that the government doesn't make transport free. Surely this is the thing that can really make a difference in the lives of us poverty stricken people, especially since all the squatter camps are miles away from anywhere, on the cheapest land. Don't they realise that often more than half of what you earn just goes to getting to work? For rich people, transport is a fraction of their costs, so it would make no difference. It surely is the most efficient, effective way of helping the rich subsidise the poor. Imagine the freedom us squatters, trapped in the muddy, messy quagmires which are the squatter camps, would get, and imagine what we could do with it - look for jobs easily, go to where the factories are, see where the action is, go out to other townships, visit friends and family, and even (gasp) go on holiday - currently an activity reserved for the rich. Every other reasonable country (and I don't mean our neighbours north of us - they're worse than us) offers cheap and sometimes free transport, mostly where you pay just one nominal amount to go as far as you want. We have to pay again each time we climb on the taxi, train or bus. How come can I see this great idea, but the government can't? Maybe the same reason they shelved the BIG idea - another superbly uplifting idea for us downtrodden ones.