PHUTI MOSOMANE
The PUTCO bus service, which had suspended its operations due to diesel shortages, will resume its services on Friday.
This will provide much-needed relief to thousands of commuters in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo.
On Thursday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Gauteng MEC for Transport and Logistics, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, held a meeting with senior executives of the bus company to resolve the service disruption.
The issue arose after PUTCO issued a notice suspending its services on Wednesday, citing unpaid subsidies for March by the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.
This decision had left 1,400 buses out of service.
Lesufi expressed his deep concern about the impact of the service disruptions on the people of Gauteng, especially those who rely on public transport for their daily activities.
“I am pleased that we have come to an agreement and that concerns raised by bus operators will be addressed to ensure that our residents continue to have access to a safe, reliable, and affordable public transport service. We appreciate the bus company coming onboard to resolve the issues and profusely apologise to commuters for the inconvenience caused. We would like to assure commuters that bus services will be running as usual from tomorrow morning,” said Lesufi.
“We understand the frustration of the commuters as this is the first time in 76 years that they find themselves in this situation. As such, we are working on concluding long term agreements on bus contracts to ensure uninterrupted bus services. Furthermore, we will work on improving and strengthening our dispute resolution mechanisms to avoid decisions that negatively impact the commuters. I would like to urge bus service providers to improve their services and procure a new fleet that will ensure great commuter experience.”
Diale-Tlabela, on the other hand, said that her department has been engaging with various public transport operators and commuter organisations to ensure that the new contracts are in line with the expectations and cater for the needs of our commuters.
“We will continue to engage with the service providers in line with the policies to ensure that commuters do not continue to bear the brunt of unreliable bus services,” said Tlabela-Diale.
PUTCO Managing Director, Franco Pisapia, said: “We are happy to announce the resumption of services from Friday morning. We wish to apologise to our passengers for the inconvenience caused. Commuters who bought season tickets will be reimbursed via discounts/validity periods.”
INSIDE POLITICS
