Daily Maverick this week reminded its readers of the following words by the new president of Colombo, Gustavo Petro: "A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's a place where the rich use public transportation." Wise words indeed.

This is a multi-layered quote as it suggests that you have top-notch public transport and infrastructure; that everyone cares for the green economy, that citizens of different persuasions and incomes aren't at each others' throats and therefore willing to share the same space, and that criminals do not hold public transport companies ransom through violence, theft and attacks on passengers. To name but a few.

In most cities and towns in South Africa decent public transportation is a pipe dream and despite the increasingly crippling effect of soaring fuel prices, most South Africans are using taxis or prefer private transport. But if you belong to the dwindling middle class and are not ready to start a lift club, your vehicle is fast becoming a luxury you can ill afford.

In George we would do well to start planning our days and appointments in such a way that we can make use of the local bus service, Go George. It will take getting used to as many of us just hop in the car because we forgot cat food or milk. Guilty as charged.

Public transport forces you to go shopping with a list - always a good idea to prevent impulse purchases. And we'll end up saving even more on food items, because if your recipe is lacking a certain ingredient, you'll have to make do or wait for the next bus.

Go George is up and running in most areas in the city, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens when it's rolled out in Thembalethu later this year. Touch wood.

The incriminating Zondo report, the violence, load-shedding and the general state of South Africa and the world bring another quote to mind: "When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace becomes a circus." And this Turkish proverb is no laughing matter.