Limpopo commuters demand action over GNT bus delays
Frustrated commuters demand action against Great North Transport over late, unsafe buses, fearing job losses and safety risks on key routes.
LIMPOPO – Commuters are fed-up with what they describe as shoddy service from a local bus company, Great North Transport (GNT), and demand that the company’s operations be halted on the routes between Elim and Nzhelele to Louis Trichardt.
The common complaints are that the buses arrive late or do not arrive at all. Commuters also complain that the buses are unroadworthy. They claim that GNT is putting their lives at risk by using unsafe buses. Some of the commuters said they feared that they might lose their jobs because they knew their bosses would not be pleased if they arrived late. The commuters want their grievances to be addressed by the Limpopo MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Violet Mathye.
One of the commuters, Naledzani Nematakwe from Nzhelele area, said the company had already cost a number of people their jobs. The commuters arrive late at work because the company does not keep to its own bus timetables.
He said that for a number of years the operator had refused to solve the problem of the frequent breakdown of its buses. “I have been waiting for a bus for almost three hours,” he complained. “I have no choice but to continue using the bus, because it is the cheapest option. Taxis cost twice as much,” he lamented. “We still wake up every morning to go and stand at the bus stop with the hope that the bus will arrive on time, but that never happens,” he said.
One lady, Joyce Marapana said her bosses told her they would have to replace employees who frequently arrived late for work. The spokesperson for Great North Transport, Muthunzi Dlamini, said that they were experiencing a shortage of buses but were in the process of acquiring a new fleet. Commuters recently decided to boycott one bus company, because their safety was not guaranteed, as most of the buses are unroadworthy. Buses which often arrive late were also the cause of much frustration, with people losing their jobs as they continually arrive late for work. Parents are also continuously summoned to schools because their children arrive late as a result of the poor service by bus companies.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is investigating alleged corruption and maladministration at GNT. The investigation will also cover the disappearance of over R500-million of workers’ pensions. The SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago says some former contractors and board members at the bus company will be investigated.
