Bus commuters still in limbo
KwaMthethwa bus commuters on their way to work were intercepted at 5am.
PHOTO: Steven Makhanya
THE ongoing uThungulu Bus Lines dispute took a new turn this week when commuters, on their way to work were intercepted at 5am, loaded onto other buses and transported to the KwaMthethwa kraal to discuss the issue.
The two-month long dispute between the bus company and its employees, which at the beginning of March resulted in a bus drivers’ strike which impacted on KwaMthethwa Reserve passengers commuting between Richards Bay and Empangeni, has still not been resolved.
After the KZN Department of Transport intervened, Ikhwezi Bus Company was requested to provide temporary relief by transporting the stranded commuters to work until the end of April so that uThungulu Bus Lines could get its house in order.
On Tuesday, passenger representatives were elected to discuss the issue with the Chief to obtain clarity about whether uThungulu Bus Lines would resume its services or whether Ikhwezi buses were still going to continue operating at KwaMthethwa.
‘Uthungulu Bus Lines CEO Mduduzi Sithole was supposed to inform the Chief of the impending meeting but he didn’t do so, therefore, the Chief wasn’t aware of the meeting and asked for a postponement to familiarise himself with the matter,’ said one passenger representative.
The passenger representatives then decided to transport the masses to the Transport Department, Empangeni Region, where they requested the General Manager: Public and Freight Transport Management, Advocate Simo Chamane, to be present to help resolve the impasse.
‘Unfortunately Adv Chamane could not make it today (Tuesday), so he asked us to meet here again on Wednesday at 2pm,’ said one of the passenger leaders, Mr Msane.
We are sick and tired of roaten uThungulu Busses now, we’ve been so perseverence for so long now with Sithole’s bad behaivior. That man does not have respect to anybody except himself, we have been complaining about his busses that are roatten and if it is raining these busses are leaking, if it is sunny the windows are tight in a way that even if the bus is burning you cannot open the window and go out. This busses were not working on time and if you phone Sithole he just tell you that you must use your ticket as a transport to home, what kind of treatment is that?. He must go, we don’t want his poor service anymore in our community. We as a bus commuters at KwaMthethwa we are sick and tired of his ill discipline and disrespectfull behaiviour.