POLOKWANE – According to commuters, in recent times they have no way of knowing if and when they will arrive at their destination. In most cases, they buy tags to use the bus, but also have to keep extra monies to take taxis instead in the case of the buses simply not arriving.
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Petros Mokoape, who commutes to Manganyi village in Blood River, related his experience.
“Quite a few times, I have been late for work because of the buses. The bus is supposed to collect us at 05:15. We wait there until it gets so late that we have no choice but to walk to the main road to catch a taxi.”
This road, he said, is a 20-minute walk from the bus stop.
“Not only is this an inconvenience, but it is frowned upon if you are more times late for work than you are on time.”
Another problem that commuters experience is that of overloaded buses, which results in commuters being turned away.
“Some buses fill up quite fast and when we try to catch another bus on the same route, the driver bluntly refuses. I have been told by a driver of a half full bus, saying that he will not be making any stops along the way because their destination is Moletjie whereas I have to get off at Blood River,” Mokoape said. Once again, he said, he has to then take a taxi.
BONUS visited the bus depot on 10 October, and witnessed buses filled to the brim. During the same visit, a bus that was nowhere near full, passed commuters stranded who tried to make it stop by standing in its way. The driver simply pushed through, forcing the commuters to move out of the way.
GNT Marketing and Communications Manager, Patrick Monkoe said buses have a customer service line that commuters can use if they experience any problems on their commute.
“Each bus has a number that will help commuters to identify it. We urge commuters to take down that number and report it us and appropriate action will be taken if it’s found that the driver acted improperly,” he said.
He further said GNT drivers are made aware thereof that commuters’ punctual pick-up and drop-off is key.
“If a driver experiences a breakdown, another bus is immediately sent to pick up the passengers. The changeover will affect the time but we are not aware of buses not arriving on the routes at all. We also have chairpersons of transport forums who represent commuters in the relevant areas to help commuters address any challenges that they may encounter,” he said.
Spokesperson for the Department of Transport, Matome Moremi-Taueatsoala said the department is aware of GNT’s apparent failure to render effective services to commuters.
“Several meetings were held with GNT regarding their failure in meeting their contractual obligations. A task team was established between the Department of Transport, Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, the Limpopo Economic Development Agency and GNT to investigate the problem and map a way forward,” he said.
