TBS commuters sign petition demanding better service

Commuters in Tshwane are currently signing a petition against the Tshwane bus service (TBS) over the poor service offered.

The petition initiated by Linnien Botha has already garnered more than 70 supporters.

In the petition, commuters expressed that they have endured too much suffering at the hands of the bus drivers’ strike.

“Commuters are left stranded with an extra financial burden for a service already paid for, yet do not receive.”

Another issue was that not all buses arrived on schedule according to the set timetable.

“Overfull buses are an issue as there are not enough buses in high volume areas.”

The petition said that more than 20 commuters could be left standing during a bus trip, while social distancing had to be adhered to.

The petition further ordered TBS management to take responsibility for their employees and suggested stand-in drivers when a driver was sick, and for TBS drivers to be allowed to use A Re Yeng “red carpet” bus lanes.

They also demanded the metro to introduce bus marshals at designated bus stops to inform passengers when buses were not on the schedule.

A commuter who wanted to remain anonymous said she did not believe that the petition would bring much progress though.

“There are too many internal problems effecting commuters with financial impact.

“There is a time for dialogue and then there is a time we have to show action. How many petitions have been signed over the past couple of years which actually worked.”

She said that she was not happy with the service to the commuters who were “always left as collateral casualties”.

“Just after we have fully loaded our cards (monthly coupons), we are left stuck without transport due to strikes. I am not happy with the updating of the commuters and they don’t refund the value of what the commuters use extra for other alternative means of transport.”

Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo admitted that the TBS management had “challenges” dealing with illegal strikes which negatively affected TBS services within Tshwane.

He said the metro noted that in turn, commuters to make arrangements for alternative transport within short notice.

“However, the Tshwane metro has shown some improvements as fewer work stoppages were encountered as compared to the previous years.

“The metro has resolved to enforce the disciplinary mechanism to those who are not following the process of collective bargaining and agreements.”

He said the metro was currently conducting a study on how to integrate public transport within the city to avoid the competition between operators.

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This as TBS drivers were served with a notice informing them that it was illegal to drive in the red-painted A Re Yeng bus lanes.

Just last month, two TBS buses were stoned in Pretoria North and WF Nkomo Street as drivers engaged in an illegal strike action due to a driver who was allegedly arrested for a traffic infringement.

It was alleged that he had been driving in the “red-carpet” lane.

The strike led the metro to withdraw 160 daily operated buses due to alleged intimidation and safety concerns.

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