Commuters face 'intolerable' transport drama in Cape Town

Commuters in Cape Town faced a double-whammy transport crisis on Friday as Metrorail trains were delayed as a national bus strike entered its third day.

Cape Town mayoral committee member for transport and urban development Brett Herron asked employers to bear with their staff‚ as heavy delays were expected across the city.

“The bus Strike continues and no buses are operating this morning. To make matters worse Metrorail has announced significant operational failures across the region affecting all lines this morning. They are operating limited services with delays of at least 60 minutes‚” said Herron.

“Trains that do operate will also be subject to a holding pattern at Salt River‚ Mutual and Esplanade stations. This will make it extremely difficult for commuters who use public transport. Employers must please exercise patience and flexibility for their employees.”

Herron said thousands of commuters would be affected.

“Our public transport network requires a fully operational commuter rail system to be its backbone. Today we have several hundreds of thousands of commuters stranded by rail plus those who usually use buses looking for a way to commute‚” he said.

“The situation is intolerable. We urge parties to the passenger bus bargaining process to work extra hard to find agreement.”

Unions representing bus drivers who have embarked on a national strike said while it was unfortunate that commuters were inconvenienced‚ the strike had been effective.

Zanele Sabela‚ a spokesperson for the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu)‚ said wage negotiations would continue on Friday. Workers are resolute in their demand for a 12% wage increase while employers are offering a 7% increase.

“…the outcome of the meeting will determine whether we continue or workers go back to work. It’s a pity this came at the expense of commuters.”