At last, relief for stranded commuters

A KZN bus company - KZT Metro - has been awarded the transport tender to serve communities that have been without a public bus service since the beginning of the year

Thousands of commuters in the poor areas of Eshowe on the North Coast and Clermont, west of Durban, battled for months after a local bus company ceased operations.

Yesterday KwaZulu-Natal MEC for transport, community safety and liaison Willies Mchunu announced that KZT Metro, a BEE company, had met tender specifications to serve both routes.

Mchunu said the previous operators, Washesha and Thokomala, were not fired but had just stopped their operations.

"Commuters were frustrated because they could not get to work on time," Mchunu said. "We worked hard with the unions and community to come up with a solution.

"The new operator did not begin services on Monday due to challenges.

"These included labour issues of the workers from the previous operators, which are being resolved," Mchunu said.

He said he had assigned the province's road traffic inspectorate officers to inspect the buses before the fleet hit the road to "avoid unroadworthy buses" being used to ferry passengers.

KZT Metro manager Vidhor Mangaroo said they got a letter from the department to confirm they were appointed the new operators.

"We are hoping to operate the service in Eshowe shortly but are confident that the Clermont service will be in place on Sunday."