Free ride on buses comes to end soon

Commuters who board Nelson Mandela Bay’s bus system will have to start coughing up for tickets from Monday. The metro has also beefed up security on the buses after some passengers were threatened and prevented from getting on to the buses last week.

The Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) dry run took a dramatic turn as some commuters were told they would be shot if they boarded the buses.

But councillors who sit on the roads and transport committee were reassured yesterday that commuters would be safe while riding on the buses.

Infrastructure and engineering executive director Walter Shaidi said: “The incidents that we have seen widely reported in the media were isolated incidents.”

Presenting an update on the bus fare system, IPTS project manager Lutando Maboza said the municipality had deployed two security officers on each of the buses.

“Because we don’t have any cameras on the buses we have deployed security officers to mitigate that.

Echoing Shaidi’s comment about the isolated nature of the threats, Maboza said: “When you implement such a project of this magnitude you expect to get such.”

Maboza said the vehicle operating company, Spectrum Alert, was also in the process of training security staff. On the fare-collection system, Maboza said the municipality would at first issue paper tickets.

That would, however, later change and “Euro Mastercard Visa” (EMS) would be used.

“It is a chip-based payment that is connected to a banking system,” Maboza said.
“The ticket prices will range from R10 for a single trip and up to R120 for multiple trips [per month].”

Maboza said commuters using the EMS card would be able to use the same card when using the Cape Town and Tshwane bus systems.

He said a marketing campaign that would shed light on schedules, ticket prices and stops would also pick up this coming weekend.

Newly appointed roads portfolio head Marlon Daniels used the platform to send a stern message to those who had threatened commuters.

“I have never been afraid of gangsters and I know that they are cowards and that is why they come in a pack and they will never come to you alone. I am not scared of them and they must bring it on,” he said.

Daniels later withdrew the comments after councillors asked him not to challenge those who had threatened commuters.

ANC councillor Mvuzo Mbelekane said the safety of commuters should be a priority.

“What we want to know is that commuters will be safe.

“You can’t say that gangsters are cowards because our brothers and sisters die every day in the northern areas.

“Let us not challenge them by saying they must bring it on.”

Tickets will be available at various pick-up points along the Cleary Park bus route from Friday.

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