Gqeberha commuters can finally gear up for the return of the Libhongolethu Bus Service, according to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
In August last the buses were taken off the road due to safety concerns, as the condition of the vehicles was unsafe for commuters. At the time Municipal Roads and Transport political head, Bradley Murray, made the decision to take the buses off the road, following an assessment which indicated most of the buses needed serious mechanical work, and others required general services.
“The bus transport system was suspended to give space for the buses to be fixed, as they experienced mechanical challenges due to poor maintenance by the operator. What delayed the process were issues in relation to a Service Level Agreement with Volvo SA (where the buses are being fixed),” said the municipality’s Mthubanzi Mniki.
“There were legal matters that had to be dealt with so that the business transaction would be above board. We are pleased that all those issues have been dealt with.
“The repairs and maintenance on the buses have started. We expect the first buses to be finished before the end of this month. Work has already started to prepare the route for the restart of operations by mid-April,” he concluded.
In a recent video posted by NMBM on social media platforms, Murray visited Volvo to oversee the ongoing progress in repairing 25 Libhongolethu buses, with the buses having had extensive damages.
In the video, one of the buses was being worked on, and reported to be costing the municipality close to R600 000 to fix.
“The damage is so extensive that it’s embarrassing to say that these buses were transporting residents of Nelson Mandela Bay. You know, in August 2023 we took a stance; we went to go inspect the buses, and there were only two buses riding when we came there.
“Those two buses were not roadworthy. I physically took my hand and I put it into the tyre, and we were expecting residents to climb into the buses like that. We stopped on that day; we stopped all buses from riding. We then embarked on a process with supply chain with roads and transport, and our fleet management team to get a contract with Volvo. Volvo is one of the reputable companies in this country.”
The Department of Roads and Transport has identified additional routes for the Libhongolethu buses, including Kariega and Kwa-Nobuhle.
“Future parts for Nelson Mandela Bay IPTS: we have agreed that these buses must be rolled out into other areas, which means we need to create new routes. That route now we’ve identified is that Kariega will also have a route; we’ve identified 12 buses to go to Kariega.
“Kwa-Nobuhle must get buses as well, so a route will be opening there. Some of the buses must be fixed to go that side as well,” Murray concluded.
