According to the bus service, from this month bus inspectors would be deployed at Rea Vaya stations and on buses to monitor general bus and station operations. The inspectors would be predominantly responsible for checking the validity of passengers’ trips in the Rea Vaya system and enforce the city council’s bylaws, specifically in relation to fare evasion.
The inspectors would perform random checks to verify that passengers had a valid ticket. “The City of Joburg has sought to introduce inspectors to eliminate fare evasion. Fare evasion occurs when commuters do not tap in or tap out prior to the end of their trip,” said Rea Vaya spokesperson Corrine Lekhoane.
Lekhoane said inspectors would be deployed at all Rea Vaya stations and on buses, but their agenda would vary from day to day.
However, although commuters welcomed the move, they were equally concerned about driver behaviour, saying that Rea Vaya drivers needed to be monitored.
Commenting on a Rea Vaya Facebook post about the introduction of inspectors, Sipho Pius Maile said, “they must also check reckless driving.”
“Please start with the issue of reckless and rude drivers & [sic] malfunctioning bus equipment [worse on a new fleet],” Facebook user Delane Phillip VI also commented.
Lekhoane said although inspectors would focus mainly on trip validity, where there were cases of recklessness they would report it to the control centre for immediate attention.
“The city is aware of the incidents of poor driver behaviour, and once reported, the city refers this to the bus operating company [to] deal with individual drivers to address those issues.”
Piotrans, the operating company responsible for managing Rea Vaya buses, is penalised for poor performance of drivers, she explained.
The city council had also introduced a dedicated team of Metro police officials, who would monitor the Rea Vaya lanes, and would also note and address reckless driving where evident, she added.
