Indian buses in Durban

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On the following pages series of buses and coaches....just click on the pictures!
					The history of the Indian bus industry in Durban has been described by Zainul Aberdeen in his book "Indian Buses. The History, the Memories, the Personalities. (ISBN 978-0-9869919-9-8, www.bkpress.co.za).
AA Tours	Almeer Kaloo & Sons	Ashina's	CTS / Metro	Dehal's

Deo's Coach Tours	Diannes Coaches	Eagle Star	F.Saiub / Infan's	Kenfield
					Some Indian buses are artworks on their own. scroll down for examples
KKC	KZN	KZT	Lakehaven	Leesan's

M.G.Hurdeen	Mac's	Mariann Ridge Tr.	MBT	Megashlin's
					An exhibition in Durban's Kwa Muhle Museum on 130 Bram Fischer Road, honors the (Indian) bus history of Durban. It runs from october 2015 to January 2016.
N.R.Moses & Sons	Newlands	Ngotshana Bus Serv.	Nikhiel's	Northway

Olyumpic Bus Lines	Pra's Coaches	Rama City Express	Roselite	RSV Coaches	Sashvin's Tours	Springfiels Safari T.

Two Line	unknown 1	unknown 2	unknown 3	unknown 4	unknown 5	unknown 6
A unique part of South Africa's bus history has been written by the Indian community in Durban. Indians arrived in South Africa over 150 years ago and the Indian community around Durban has grown to become the largest outside India. Indian families have been involved in the bus industry since 1919 and for many families the bus and the bus company has been the main source of income for decades. There have been hundreds of small and large companies, surviving through thedifficult periods and the Apartheid regime that gave Indians their own position in society. During the 1990's, after Apartheid had been abolished, times became very hard with an unregulated taxi industry violently taking over the public transport business. The violence, including killings and burning of buses meant the end for many companies, though there are still a few dozen remaining, including some large ones. The Indian families not only ran their own transport business, which went from father to son, or sometimes daughter, with the whole family helping out, but also did the maintenance, repairs and often rebuidling of their bus or buses. Even today roadside bus body building has not completely vanished, as can be seen from the Lakehaven pictures! There were master body builders in the region and some developed their own body building company, such as the Ramdaries and Roys. How hard the work of these companies is can be seen in the series of Lakehaven, Leesans and "unknown 5" where at the end of the day bus repairs continue under often primitive conditions! The future of the Indian buses is unclear. Durban transport went through hard times with the municipal company being a shadow of its former self and the, now regulated, taxi industry playing a major role. But improvements are being amde and Durban started investing in a Bus Rapid Transit system, following Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria. The Indian bus industry hopes to be able to play a role in an integrated transport system. Some Indian buses are adorned with paintings, often with a religious meening. Some examples: