POLOKWANE – Following the closure of Leeto La Polokwane bus services for most of Thursday morning, the Seshego-Polokwane Taxi Association (SPTA) has said operations should resume during the day.

The three taxi associations that are beneficiaries of the local platform had halted operations pending a meeting over two demands.

What the meeting was about

The Seshego-Polokwane, Flora Park-Polokwane and Westenburg-Polokwane Taxi Associations met with Leeto’s operating company, Esilux, and officials of Polokwane Municipality.

They demanded the last R7 million of the R21 million payout for their taxi routes, following an earlier agreement that bought most taxis in the city to make up for the bus.

Newer information received by Review Online from a source indicated that discussions were also set to renegotiate the fare price for Leeto’s new route to Mall of the North.

This was because the bus did not reach the mall, and the aim was to avoid affecting the taxis that already pick up commuters in and out of that area.

Meanwhile, SPTA spokesperson Simon Molomo told Review Online that following a successful discussion in the meeting, they were waiting for the documentation of the agreements reached and minutes before the buses take off again.

“Once we get something in black and white, we will allow for the buses to be released,” he explained.

LLP confirms temporary suspension

This morning, LLP released a communique to residents confirming that bus services were temporarily suspended due to an “operational disruption”, requesting that commuters make alternative travel arrangements.

“Our team is attending to the matter to ensure that services can resume safely and efficiently. An update will be issued as soon as services resume,” the communique read.

Comment pending

Spokesperson Malesela Maubane referred Review Online to Manager: Intelligent Transport Systems Modelling, Nomfundo Mashele, who said she would respond at a later stage.