No refunds for commuters for alternative transport
“We literally bought our tokens for nothing this month,” says an angry commuter.
Tshwane metro won’t refund bus commuters who had to use alternative transport while the service was suspended.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo told Rekord that it was unfair of its commuters to ask the metro to repay them.
“We know that we are providing services to our customers but the current strike by some of our workers is beyond our control,” Mashigo said.
“We really understand our customer’s frustration and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
He, however, said unused trip vouchers or connector cards would remain valid when bus operations resume.
Ronald Mokgethi of Pretoria east told Rekord that it was extremely inconsiderate of the metro to expect them to fork out more money on alternative transport.
Mokgethi said the metro should have organised alternative transport on behalf of its customers in the first place.
“These politicians are all the same, now we are suffering because of them and we as the citizens are paying our taxes and rates yet we are struggling to get them to provide the service.
“As things stand, we don’t even know when the buses will be operational. The only thing that is being communicated is that it’s still suspended,” he said.
Centurion resident Palesa Makgoe echoed Mokgethi’s sentiment saying the municipality didn’t consider the feelings of the commuters on the matter.
“We literally bought our tokens for nothing this month, as none of us used them.
“It’s like we are throwing our money into a drain and the municipality is not saying anything apart from tweeting that ‘buses remain suspended’,” an angry Makgoe said.
She said she had to pay more for alternative transport while the bus was suspended.
Makgoe said she takes a bus from Centurion to Pretoria CBD, then another to Silverton and back every day.
Buses were suspended in June when metro workers who are members of the South African municipal workers union (Samwu) went on strike due to unpaid overtime and salary increments.
Mamelodi Sundowns make it five wins in a row in the league
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
