Services of Putco’s replacement disrupted

02 July 2015 - 09:34 By RDM News Wire

The bus service filling Putco’s old routes came under attack again on Thursday morning. Despite a heavy police presence‚ there were reports of stonings of buses early in the morning‚ particularly in Mamelodi.The protestors are said to be members of taxi associations who claim they were promised the routes abandoned by Putco from June 30 by the City of Tshwane.Autopax - “a state-owned entity and wholly owned subsidiary of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa)” - was given a “temporary‚ three-month contract” to run buses on these routes.And‚ according to Gauteng roads and transport MEC Ismail Vadi‚ there were “continuing discussions with Autopax with a view to concluding a more durable contract”.Vadi didn’t seem to foresee the problem with the taxi associations whose members disrupted Autopax operations on Wednesday and on Thursday morning.“There will be no disruption of bus services to the public‚” a statement released by his department said on Tuesday.This differed slightly from a government statement issued on Monday saying the termination of Putco services in Tshwane‚ Ekurhuleni and Sedibeng municipalities with effect from June 30‚ 2015 could “leave many commuters and residents stranded with no transport operations to get to work or schools”.Vadi said Autopax will operate the bus routes on the same timetables and fares as Putco’s‚ but “appealed to commuters to be patient should there be any teething problems in the changeover of operators”.About a quarter of Autopax’s buses were reported to have managed to leave depots and get on some routes on Thursday...

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