National Assembly: 2nd July 2009

Honourable Speaker,

The public transport system in this country is already beset with problems. This situation will now be compounded in Durban as the people of this city face the possibility of being without a bus service for the next few months. Remant Alton, which runs the city's bus service, has closed down leaving about 1500 people without employment and the rest of the city without a bus service.

Remant Alton took over Durban Transport in 2003 at a cost of R70 million. However, due to the rapidly deteriorating state of the bus service the municipality bought back the busses from them five years later at a cost of R405 million. It was agreed that Remant Alton would remain the operator and lease the busses from the municipality.

The bus service should not have been allowed to reach this low point. 

Surely there were warning signs which should have been heeded and actions which could have been taken to avoid the closure of the bus service? With proper management and leadership from the municipality the public transport system in Durban would not be in the dire state that it now finds itself.

The municipality must take some responsibility for this situation and there must definitely be an investigation into the circumstances that led to the closure of this important public transport facility. If there was greater transparency and improved accountability mechanisms in place this situation would not have occurred. This situation will not only inconvenience the many people who use the bus service but also put a strain on the city's other modes of transport.