Pretoria - Mamelodi commuters on Thursday expressed their satisfaction with the new AutoPax buses which began operating in the township earlier this month.
This emerged during a visit by members of the parliamentary portfolio committee on transport who conducted an oversight assessment of the situation following the wave of violence that swept the township when the buses were initially introduced.
Chairwoman of the portfolio committee, Dikeledi Magadzi, said the aim of their visit was to assess how various modes of transport could operate without friction, in light of the recent violence in Mamelodi. “Taxi drivers also want to be subsidised. The taxi industry can be integrated into the system to ease the demand of service delivery,” Magadzi said.
Taxi drivers disrupted AutoPax buses operating in the township after Putco withdrew its services from eight loss-making routes in Gauteng. “We are happy that some of the people from Parliament came to see us to find out how we feel and are being treated by the transport modes we use. The new buses make us happy because they are comfortable,” said Selinah Sabothoma.
The 58-year-old, who works as a cleaner in Garsfontein, said one of the problems with the buses was that they were not always on time.
She is one of hundreds of Mamelodi residents who use buses.
“The buses are often not on time and most of us are late for work on a daily basis and our bosses are losing patience with us. They must add more buses,” Sabothoma said.
The bus company also needed to organise and implement a ticketing system as carrying money was problematic, she said.
Committee members went on a bus ride from the Mamelodi bus terminus and interacted with the commuters to hear their grievances and report back to Parliament.
AutoPax depot manager Elliot Mofokeng said one of the challenges they currently faced was implementing a ticketing system.
“We feel the passengers’ pain and we are working to get the system running by August 1.
“It poses a problem for the drivers as well because it puts them at risk of being robbed,” he said.
Mofokeng explained that the need for more buses was evident, but there was nothing the company could do now to alleviate the problem as it was operating on a temporary contract.
“Another thing is that we inherited all the routes from Putco, which means we are operating the same way Putco was.”
Pretoria News