A shortage of diesel has forced bus company Putco Bus Services to suspend its operations from Thursday onwards.
This has been confirmed by spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu who said the disruption was due to an unpaid subsidy by the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.
He said some 1 000 buses would not be operating and would affect most of its commuters until the matter was resolved.
“About 1 000 buses will be off the road and will not be operating. This is due to fact that we do not have diesel and we were not able to purchase diesel at this stage because of subsidies that were not paid from March by the government.
“We can confirm that our buses will not be in operation on Thursday (and) until further notice. We are hoping that engagements with the government will be able to speed up the process of those subsidies being paid out,” he said.
Xulu said the engagement were ongoing and it was hoped that they would yield results sooner rather than later.
“The engagements are still continuing, but the unfortunate reality goes back to saying that 200 000 people will be left without transportation, but we are hoping that the government will come to the party and speed up the process,” added Xulu
The spokesperson for Gauteng Roads and Transport Department, Melitah Madiba, said payment to the bus company was being attended to as a matter of urgency.
“The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport wishes to confirm that payments to Putco Bus Company for the portion of March has been captured and will reflect on the bus operators’ banks account by Monday, 08 May 2023, due to transactions from different bank accounts which takes about three days.
“Delays in processing subsidised bus operators’ payments for… March 2023 are as a result of a widely known procedure and trend. The Public Transport Operating Grant being transferred to the province by the National Department of Transport only in the first week of May each financial year,” she said.
Madiba said the department managed 34 bus subsidy contracts awarded to 13 bus operators, Putco being among them.
Commuter Mbalenhle Mkhize, from Orlando East, said she used the last of her cash to find alternative transport in order to get to work.
“We buy monthly and weekly tickets to avoid having to fork out money for extra transport. Now I have to take a taxi to Bara, at a cost of R12, and another taxi to Fourways, at R28. That is going to cost me at least R80 to R90 just to get to work today. What if this is not resolved? I will be forced to do the same tomorrow again,” she said.