DA wants Metro Buses without permits removed from the roads

Basil Douglas

PR Councillor for the City of Johannesburg

 

The Democratic Alliance in the City of Johannesburg is disgusted by the fact that Metro bus is conducting illegal operations in the city and is by its own submission, running 42 buses without operating licences.

 

The Metro bus system is in contravention of our traffic laws and ordinances. We as the DA believe that this is a criminal offence and demand that Metro buses be taken off our roads immediately. If the city government can take drastic measures against illegal taxi operators, then the same principle should apply in the case of the Metro bus. 

 

We view this as anarchy being condoned by the powers that be. Pedestrian excuses of the slowness of the issuing of certificates by the Gauteng licensing board is a means to divert the attention to other things and not the real issue, which is that the Metro bus system is failing us. It is an illegal operation which seemingly has been going on for years now and is bound to have negative unintended consequences on the commuters and other road users.

 

Driver absenteeism, compounded by the temerity of the Metro bus company not to fill 15 vacant driver positions as agreed to in September of last year, and its use of dispatchers to drive buses raises the concern that it could use the odd hawker if need be, thus compromising the safety of its dwindling passengers. 

 

The DA therefore calls upon the city government to address the Metro bus issue by removing the company’s buses without proper permits from our roads. People’s lives are at stake and we cannot afford to have this form of transport as a means of service delivery.