Rea Vaya suspends services until further notice after shooting of bus drivers

Rea Vaya has urged passengers to make alternative transport arrangements after suspending its services on Tuesday morning.

The transport service suspended its buses until further notice following shooting incidences in Soweto on Monday night.

According to police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, police are investigating cases of murder after two Rea Vaya bus drivers were shot and killed in two separate incidents.

In the first incident, it is reported that the driver had stopped at a robot along Wildchestnut Street in Protea when he was shot and killed by unknown suspects.

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On the second incident at Tshithuthune Street, the eyewitness reported that he was the last passenger on the bus when he heard gunshots and took cover.

“After it got quiet, he realised that the driver was shot. He tried to drive the bus but crashed into a wall. The driver was declared dead on the scene, and the passenger sustained no injuries,” said Nevhuhulwi.

In both incidents, the motive is unknown at this stage, and police investigations continue.

“We advise passengers to use alternative public transport. Regular updates on the situation will be given,” said Rea Vaya.

Second suspension

This is the second suspension in just months, following the suspension of its services in November last year. At the time, Transport MMC Kenny Kunene said that “transport stakeholders” were upset about feeder routes.

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“Some transport stakeholders have raised issues relating to feeder routes. We are engaging with them to establish the cause of the problem. We apologise for the inconvenience,” said Kunene.

“The City will meet with the Soweto taxi operators to find solutions to the concerns raised by the taxi associations.”

⚠️ALERT : Taxi Operators are currently protesting the return of @ReaVayaBus feeder buses at Thokoza Park, as a result buses are suspended until further notice. #JHBTraffic pic.twitter.com/d1q1C3KuWj

— 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕋ℝ𝔸ℕ𝕊ℙ𝕆ℝ𝕋 𝔾𝕌𝕐 – 𝕏 🇿🇦 (@Takatso_Moloi) November 4, 2024

Kunene initially said the taxi industry only had an issue with the 45 Rea Vaya feeder buses because they did not have Gauteng registration plates.

However, Rea Vaya and the taxi bosses met, and it was explained that the bus company was not introducing new buses in Soweto but was complementing an existing service.

“Mistakes happened at the depot, where the 45 buses were told to collect people with the wrong registration number plates. They were supposed to make sure that before the buses went out, they had the GP number plates,” said Kunene.

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“The taxi industry became very angry because, according to industry standards, you have to operate a bus or taxi with the registration of that particular province. We apologise for that inconvenience.

“We have explained to the taxi industry what the new buses are; it is not a new business; it is still part of Piotrans’s fleet, which is just beefing up as many buses have broken down.”

More Rea Vaya buses

Meanwhile, Rea Vaya has added 68 buses to its fleet after buying rigid Gautrain buses from Bombela for R18 million.

The 68 buses were unveiled at Turffontein in Gauteng last week.

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“They, however, do not have the right door for loading and offloading of passengers and thus do not meet the Bus Rapid Transport specifications,” announced the City of Joburg.

“Reconfiguration and rebranding have been done according to the City of Joburg’s corporate identity for compliance before they can be used to provide Rea Vaya services.”

The City of Joburg expects the reconfiguration of 66 buses to be completed by June 2025.

It has a target of 16 buses monthly from February.