Des Erasmus
The first phase of eThekwini’s long-delayed GO!Durban public transport system will start carrying passengers in December after an agreement was finally reached with taxi and bus operators, according to the municipality.
GO!Durban is running about a decade behind schedule and to date the project, which is funded by the Public Transport Network Grant (PTNG), has cost about R9.7 billion. Its website remains “under maintenance”.
The first phase was initially set to go live in 2017/2018, and then again in 2024.
But eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba said on Sunday at a media briefing that the city had finally resolved areas of contention with the public transport sector, clearing one of the main hurdles to launching the project.
“[T]hrough robust engagement not only with the industry but also with the provincial and national Department of Transport, we have now been able to find common ground. This paves the way for the service to go live in December this year,” Xaba said.
That common ground includes agreement on ownership of the fleet, operating contracts, compensation for affected operators, employment, and opportunities within the transport value chain, as well as how dividends will be handled, he said.
The city will pay the vehicle operating company (VOC) to operate the service, with the VOC then settling dividends with its own shareholders.
The municipality will procure 22 buses for the main route, while feeder vehicles will be bought by operators through the VOC.
A three-year stop-gap operating contract will initially be put in place, followed by a negotiated 12-year contract.
Xaba said 75% of employees would be drawn from workers displaced by the introduction of the system. Compensation for affected operators will be calculated according to the value of their businesses, including current profits and the remaining period on their operating licences.
The VOC structures must still be established, after which contracts between the companies and the municipality are expected to be signed during Transport Month in October, said Xaba.
That will trigger a testing and commissioning period of about two months before the public launch in December.
“The total cumulative investment the city has made into the programme to date is approximately R9.7 billion,” Xaba said.
The money has been spent on infrastructure, stations, depots, systems and “professional services”.
Xaba was joined at the briefing by, among others, Vickesh Maharaj representing the bus sector, and SANTACO chairman Mathula Mkhize, with both in support of the launch.
When it was announced in 2013, eThekwini put the cost of the entire project at about R22 billion.
Financial management of the project has been a bone of contention with opposition councillors and the Auditor-General.
In its consolidated general report on the local government audit outcomes for 2021/22, the AG said eThekwini “has spent R125,59 million on standing costs” on the integrated rapid public transport network contract.
The AG said Route 3, between Bridge City, Pinetown and New Germany (this is the phase to be launched in December), had started in 2014 and was scheduled for completion in 2018, but remained incomplete four years later because of disputes with the taxi association and community disruptions.
At that stage, 26.13km of the planned 27.5km route and 10 stations had been completed but were not being used because of the deadlock over ownership of the city’s fleet. The AG said 22 buses had also been modified and branded at a cost of R4.52 million but remained unused, resulting in an estimated annual revenue loss of R4.62 million.
In February last year, DA eThekwini councillor Zamani Khuzwayo called for a “detailed and comprehensive” report into the project, saying more than R8 billion had by then been spent, with GO!Durban still not being operational.
The DA said the city was paying R2.1 million a month for security and patrol services at 12 bus stations and 24 transfer facilities, as well as another R200,000 a month for cleaning them.
“The Go Durban Project has been mismanaged for years, and taxpayers deserve answers about where their money has gone,” Khuzwayo said.
IOL reported in July that during a debate in council over an implementation progress report, DA councillor Lyndal Singh criticised another R22.9 million allocation for a review and planning model for GO!Durban after the city shifted towards a revised, affordability-focused approach.
“The municipality seems to have perfected one route: the route from the ratepayer’s pocket to another consultant’s invoice,” Singh was quoted as saying.
IOL also reported ActionSA Councillor Zwakele Mncwango saying that it would be more appropriate to rename the project “Gone!Durban”.
But Xaba said on Sunday: “While the implementation of the programme has suffered delays, it has delivered tangible results in the form of infrastructure, systems and economic empowerment outcomes. The priority now is to translate the investment already made into a functioning public transport service, beginning with the C3 corridor.”
Besides connecting Pinetown and Bridge City, the C3 route will also serve surrounding communities. Other Phase One services — the C1, C2 and C9 corridors and the Inner-City Distribution Service — are scheduled to begin rolling out from the first quarter of 2027.
Between December and March, the municipality also plans to begin integrating existing subsidised bus services into the GO!Durban network and reviewing routes to improve connections between communities and major destinations.
Xaba also repeated the city’s cumulative employment figures at the briefing, saying the project had created 22,967 job opportunities, including 11,767 for young people, 3,677 for women and 231 for people with disabilities. A further 25 unemployed graduates were also employed under the programme. The same totals were published by government as far back as 2019.
The city also repeated its cumulative empowerment figures, saying about R1.2 billion had been made available to subcontractors, R372 million invested in enterprise development and R526 million spent on 155 small businesses.
“Once again, I want to assure the people of eThekwini that, come December, commuters will begin to reap the benefits of the state-of-the-art infrastructure we have put in place along the Pinetown–Bridge City route,” Xaba said.
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