Nothing Works but the People - bus driver

PODCAST: ‘Nothing Works but the People’

In her podcast, Pheladi Sethusa puts the focus on work and workers in South Africa. This week, in a change of pace, she spends time with urban bus drivers. 
April 2, 2026
1 min read

For her new podcast series Nothing Works but the People, Joburg multimedia ace and storyteller Pheladi Sethusa’s has spent months shadowing different South Africans at work to cast a light on what real work looks like here, and what it means for the country and its people. 

She’s already shadowed architects and teachers, and this week she jumps into the front seat with city bus drivers. Spending the day observing such peripatetic jobs is an introduction to all kinds of humans, but equally, the places we live, work and travel through. 

As Sethusa says: “South Africans are listed among some of the world’s earliest risers – a direct consequence and hangover of apartheid spatial planning. While public transit routes remain limited and oversubscribed, millions rely heavily on predictable and reliable public transport. In this episode, we ride along with bus drivers, as they usher commuters to and from work.” 

Apple

Spotify

Top image: Rawpixel/Currency collage.

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