City takes driving seat for municipal bus service
FOLLOWING disruptions to the bus service in Montclair and other areas in December, commuters are assured by the eThekwini Municipality that the matter has been resolved, with the decision to establish a municipal entity to run the Durban bus service.
At a sitting of the municipality’s Executive Committee (Exco) last week, the options were tabled and the decision made. One option meant the municipality would take over the running of the service as a department and another was to continue with the privatisation of the service. It was decided neither of these were viable, as privatisation had been tried and failed in the past and the financial burden on the municipality should it run the service was too high and would have led to the loss of the transport subsidy from the provincial and national governments, requiring an additional R307-million.
The municipal entity once in place will function much like the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre and uShaka Marine World, including a board of directors, a chief executive officer and staff, with the municipality overseeing it all. City manager, Sibusiso Sithole will appoint the team who will establish the municipal entity and provide Exco with monthly progress reports.
“We must now engage with the national and provincial departments of transport to ensure we get the necessary guarantees for the continuation of the subsidy. We also need to negotiate with different stakeholders in terms of the absorption of labour from the current operator to the new entity,” said Sithole.
Bus service problems in December and early 2014 were due to non-payment of staff and diesel supply shortages. In order to avoid further disruptions while the municipal entity is set up, an independent team will work with the current operator, Tansnat.
