Noisy learner transport is still a challenge
“All children must be safe. We need to defend them when they are exposed.”
Loud music and children’s safety are some of the issues on the radar of the newly appointed MEC for Transport and Logistics Kedibone Diale-Tlabela as schools kickstarted their 2023 academic calendar.
The responsibility to ensure the safety of children lay with everyone including parents, said Diale-Tlabela. She was responding to journalists during her visit to Alafang Secondary School at Katlehong, on January 11.
This follows growing concerns about loud music that blasts inside the learner transport every morning and afternoon when children go to school.
The MEC said they are collectively attending to learner transport with her colleague MEC Matome Chiloane. They will make sure that children are transported safely to and from school.
She said the best way to address this is to involve all stakeholders in providing school transport services to deal with the issues.
“All children must be safe. We need to defend them when they are exposed,” said Diale-Tlabela.
“We need to ensure that those in that business understand that they work with children and their lives matter. We will attend to the issue and provide feedback very soon.”
She said they are aware of the Gauteng Schooler Transport Association, however, the challenge is that not all these service providers are affiliated with the association.
“Remember, it is a business that some people just wake up and decide to start. Some of them are not licensed and some do not belong to an association,” she further said.
“We are appealing to parents because they are the ones who continue to give business to the wrong people who sacrifice the lives of their children. The responsibility lays with all of us.”
Residents of Kathorus do not have the luxury of choice when it comes to public transport. The majority of the people are limited to taxis while others use buses, with no alternative option for cheaper modes of transport.
Kathorus MAIL asked Diale-Tlabela what is being done to diversify transport and to fix the railway.
She pointed out the provincial government’s intermodal transport plan, which involves railway, air and road transport.
“The Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, is passionate about the intercity transport modes and we are working hard to ensure we provide effective transport to the people of Gauteng, including Kathorus,” said Diale-Tlabela.
She said they are working closely with municipalities as she explained that some of the responsibilities lay with them to ensure that they deliver such services.
“It is just for us to implement but I appeal to the local administration as we do not control them. They are a stand-alone government. This is within their jurisdiction and all we can do is to appeal but we cannot force them to implement it.”
The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the city is aware of the Gauteng province’s 25-year integrated transport master plan, also known as the ITMP25.
He said Kathorus is also part of the bigger plan in the province and the CoE.
“The plan is to make public transport effective and promote sustainable economic growth, skills development and job creation,” said Dlamini.
“The plan also has a vision of strengthening the global city region, geographical information systems and intelligent transport systems.”
Dlamini said the ITMP25 is a long-term plan. It involves several public transport stakeholders that need to contribute and work together to ensure the plan is realised in the long term.
He said the CoE is implementing the Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN), operating on three routes including Thembisa Hospital to OR Tambo International Airport, Thembisa Hospital to Isando and Thembisa Hospital to Bartlett.
“The next planned phase of rolling out the IPTN is to expand the service to Vosloorus,” he added.
When asked when the railway will return to operation, Dlamini noted that the rail operations are the responsibility of PRASA, Transnet, and Gauteng Management Agency and only those institutions can indicate the plans to operate rail in certain areas in the city.
