An empty bus terminal. File Picture: A GO!Durban bus terminal in Pinetown. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo African News Agency (ANA)
Durban - eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said eThekwini Municipality is standing firm on its decision not to privatise public transport and wants the buses under the GO!Durban banner to remain under the control of the city.
Kaunda said the city could not outsource 100% of public transport.
He reiterated the city’s stance on the matter during a media briefing yesterday on the work being done by the city to address the myriad challenges that had disrupted service delivery.
“On the issue of GO!Durban, we are working hard to expedite these negotiations (with taxi operators), but our position remains clear, we cannot outsource 100% of public transport. We want to remain with 51% and the other sector must remain with 49%,” said Kaunda.
The municipality is at loggerheads with the taxi operators on the C3 corridor between Pinetown and KwaMashu over the ownership of the buses.
The taxi operators are adamant that they are the ones who would lose business due to the introduction of the buses and as such should have control of them, while the city is of the view that it will purchase the buses and should therefore hold the majority stake. This dispute is the major sticking point that has delayed the launch of the route.
Mathula Mkhize of the South African National Taxi Council in Pinetown has previously said that if the issue was not resolved to the satisfaction of the taxi operators, it would be impossible for the buses to run on that route.
“We want to continue to persuade them (operators) that the city (should) own the fleet,” said Kaunda. “In terms of the infrastructure on corridor 3, the route is ready, the buses are ready, the only issue is the ownership of the fleet.
“We need to try to resolve this matter amicably because if we say, as a city, we are going at this alone, we will have to have the muscle to ensure that we secure the fleet that will be ferrying people, so it’s important to expedite that process,” he said.
Kaunda said it was important for the public to understand that the city would never have private public transport and that it had purchased new buses to ensure reliable transport for the public.
Years ago, the council passed a resolution stating that the city should establish its own entity to manage its buses; to date, that has not been implemented.
The city buses are currently managed by the bus company Tansnat on a month-to-month contract. The municipality and Tansnat have had a difficult relationship, and have taken each other to court over claims that the one owed the other millions of rand.
In the last report by the council detailing the list of debtors contributing to its almost R18 billion debt, it listed Tansnat as owing R600 million, something Tansnat has disputed, saying it was the municipality that owed it money.
Municipal manager Musa Mbhele has given his assurance that the city will soon manage its own buses.
“The process is still ongoing. You would remember that it requires many boxes to be ticked, particularly from the compliance perspective. We are still on course to establish that, and it will be concluded very soon because it’s a determination that we sought to undertake.”