Metrobus noted improved safety measures specifically designed for women using daily transport amidst GBV and Femicide challenges in the country.
Picture: iStock
Metrobus has announced over 1 609 fatality-free operational days and officially launched its countdown campaign to reach 1 860 fatality-free days during October Transport Month.
It also declared its commitment to safe travel for all women in the country, saying a woman’s right to move safely in Johannesburg is non-negotiable.
‘Women’s safety is non-negotiable’
“A woman’s right to move safely in this city is not negotiable,” Bongani Radebe, the Metrobus Managing Director.
“It is not a privilege granted by us; it is her undeniable right,” he emphasised, adding that every day, women and girls in Johannesburg board taxis, buses and trains with a fear that men do not carry – fear of harassment at the bus stop, assault on the bus and of walking the last 500m home after dark.
GBVF as a transport failure
“If she is not safe, then transport has failed, and Johannesburg is not moving,” Radebe added.
He emphasised that gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) is not a woman’s issue, but a transport safety failure.
“And it is our failure if we stay silent.”
The Metrobus Pledge
“Today, as the Managing Director of Metrobus, I speak not only for myself, but I pledge the commitment of every single Metrobus employee, from our drivers to our technicians, schedulers, controllers, cashiers, cleaners and managers,” Radebe said.
Metrobus pledged to make every bus and every bus stop a Safe Zone.
“No catcalling, no touching, no intimidation will be tolerated on our network.”
Radebe urged women who experience this to report it.
‘We promise to believe you’
“We pledge to believe you and to act,” Radebe said.
Noting that the control room will treat any GBVF alert from a bus as an emergency.
“We will stop the bus in a safe area, call the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) or the South African Police Service(Saps), and stay with you,” Radebe explained.
‘Our house is in order’
“We pledge that our own house is in order,” Radebe reiterated.
“No woman at Metrobus is unsafe.
“We pledge to keep you invisible.”
Radebe said that in October, buses will carry the GBVF Command Centre number so you can request a social worker to call you.
‘Zero tolerance for GBVF’
“To our women commuters- our mothers, sisters, daughters, gogos who trust us daily to take you to work, school, clinic and home: you have trusted us for 1 609 fatality-free operational days to keep you safe on the road,” Radebe emphasised.
“Now we pledge to keep you safe from violence on that road.
“You have the right to travel without fear, you have the right to travel without being followed, you have the right to say no and be heard.”
In his concluding remarks, Radebe said that Safety Mobility is not just about zero road fatalities.
“It is about zero tolerance for GBV; this is our promise for October Transport Month and beyond,” Bongani Radebe concluded.
