MBOMBELA – Buscor passengers are complaining about a damaged manhole which poses a danger to commuters at the bus terminus after one of them recently fell into it.
Commuters say they fear for their lives because the manhole is wide open and filled with stinking water. They have to jump over the gaping hole or step aside to avoid it every day when they go to work. This publication learnt that water was flowing from this dangerous manhole.
One commuter said they had tried to complain, but Buscor officials kept sending them from pillar to post, while the situation was getting worse. One of the commuters who approached this publication said she had slipped twice but was luckily that there were people who could help her. “I almost lost my life when I slipped into the hole and was forced to go back home since I was dirty and smelling of human waste.”
Passengers believe that the bus company cares only about money and is not concerned about the passengers’ safety. “I am still in shock and keep thinking what if the worst had happened? I was really scared that I could have died and left my kids motherless,” said another woman who wanted to remain anonymous.
She further said she feared for her children who use the transport to school every day because they might slip into the hole and lose their lives. “I have stopped buying bus tickets for my kids since I know very well that they are not safe anymore.” She is appealing to the company to fix that manhole.
Due to the terrifying condition of the hole, it is alleged that some of the passengers have stopped using buses. They say they have been complaining about the manhole but that it was never attended to.
A spokesperson of Buscor said they were not aware of the manhole.
