Thousands of Eastern Cape commuters reliant on Mayibuye buses have been hit hard by a critical bus shortage affecting the company.
This was revealed by a source insie the company, who said the four Mayibuye depots had “broken” buses that, if fixed, could transport commuters as a temporary measure.
Available buses are having to travel twice the distance to cover for the shortage of vehicles.
The source said the Zwelitsha depot had six buses that could be used if repaired.
“In Zwelitsha depot, where many buses service King William’s Town villages, six buses are not working. Three have problems with engines while the others need to be tested for roadworthiness,” said the source.
The source said the shortage was affecting commuters and company revenue.
“We can’t deny that many village residents – thousands of people – rely on us. We are losing revenue because we are overloading the current fleet and that is affecting their life span. These buses have fitness certificates and every six months they need to be checked.”
A second source said the delay in delivery of the new buses had affected their work.
“Every day we have to put buses in the workshop to make sure that they are in a very good condition because we don’t want accidents,” said the source.
King William’s Town resident Simo Monti said: “We need buses in our area and some villages have no buses at all. We can save more money if these buses can be rolled out in our villages.”
Siga Capital Asset Finance and Lease, a company awarded a tender to deliver 40 buses at a cost of R81-million to Mayibuye, is struggling to meet the demand.
Only 21 buses have been delivered by the company, but half of them are currently at Ronnies Motors being fixed as they did not meet the required specifications.
The Daily Dispatch yesterday revealed how the tender was awarded to Siga Capital despite one of the key tender bid committees disqualifying the company, owned by businessman Patuxolo Nodada.
MTC spokeswoman Bongiwe Solwandle said they were not prepared to discuss their internal matters with the media.
“The number of buses broken down and being attended to is an internal administration matter that is not for media consumption.
“Secondly, 19 buses have been delivered, with 10 from Ronnies and 9 from Siga,” said Solwandle.
The Democratic Alliance’s shadow MEC on transport, Marshall von Buchenroder, said the allegations surrounding the awarding of the tender needed to be investigated.
He said the delay in delivery of commuter buses to Mayibuye has had a negative effect on commuters.
“It is now abundantly clear that the whole tender was manipulated and delayed in order to cater for a preferred bidder.
“This manipulation appears to have enjoyed the collusion of various people in the Mayibuye Transport Corporation (MTC) and the so-called successful ‘bidder’, Siga Capital Assets,” said Von Buchenroder. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Thousands hit by Mayibuye bus shortage
This was revealed by a source insie the company, who said the four Mayibuye depots had “broken” buses that, if fixed, could transport commuters as a temporary measure.
Available buses are having to travel twice the distance to cover for the shortage of vehicles.
The source said the Zwelitsha depot had six buses that could be used if repaired.
“In Zwelitsha depot, where many buses service King William’s Town villages, six buses are not working. Three have problems with engines while the others need to be tested for roadworthiness,” said the source.
The source said the shortage was affecting commuters and company revenue.
“We can’t deny that many village residents – thousands of people – rely on us. We are losing revenue because we are overloading the current fleet and that is affecting their life span. These buses have fitness certificates and every six months they need to be checked.”
A second source said the delay in delivery of the new buses had affected their work.
“Every day we have to put buses in the workshop to make sure that they are in a very good condition because we don’t want accidents,” said the source.
King William’s Town resident Simo Monti said: “We need buses in our area and some villages have no buses at all. We can save more money if these buses can be rolled out in our villages.”
Siga Capital Asset Finance and Lease, a company awarded a tender to deliver 40 buses at a cost of R81-million to Mayibuye, is struggling to meet the demand.
Only 21 buses have been delivered by the company, but half of them are currently at Ronnies Motors being fixed as they did not meet the required specifications.
The Daily Dispatch yesterday revealed how the tender was awarded to Siga Capital despite one of the key tender bid committees disqualifying the company, owned by businessman Patuxolo Nodada.
MTC spokeswoman Bongiwe Solwandle said they were not prepared to discuss their internal matters with the media.
“The number of buses broken down and being attended to is an internal administration matter that is not for media consumption.
“Secondly, 19 buses have been delivered, with 10 from Ronnies and 9 from Siga,” said Solwandle.
The Democratic Alliance’s shadow MEC on transport, Marshall von Buchenroder, said the allegations surrounding the awarding of the tender needed to be investigated.
He said the delay in delivery of commuter buses to Mayibuye has had a negative effect on commuters.
“It is now abundantly clear that the whole tender was manipulated and delayed in order to cater for a preferred bidder.
“This manipulation appears to have enjoyed the collusion of various people in the Mayibuye Transport Corporation (MTC) and the so-called successful ‘bidder’, Siga Capital Assets,” said Von Buchenroder. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
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