Johannesburg - Taxi drivers are smiling from ear to ear following a labour dispute between two Rea Vaya service providers as commuters are forced to use taxis to work this morning.
Most Soweto Rea Vaya commuters have been left stranded following a labour dispute between the bus operator and their drivers.
Some of the affected areas include Orlando East, Pimville, and other areas. The company issued a statement informing passengers that buses in Phases 1A and 1B will not be on the roads on Thursday.
The company issued a notice to their commuters on Wednesday afternoon, warning them of the problem.
"Passengers are advised that Rea Vaya buses T1, C1, C2, C3, F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5 are not operating at the moment. We are in contact with the bus operating company to establish the problem. An update on the situation will be given. We apologise for the inconvenience," a notice circulated on social media reads.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, the City of Joburg’s Dorothy Mabuza said affected passengers are mostly from Soweto, saying the service providers, Pio-Trans and Litsamaiso are private companies.
"Both Pio-Trans and Litsamaiso are private companies that operate services on behalf of the city. Their internal matters and dealings, the city has no leverage on them. The City has not and cannot interfere on internal matters. There appears to be an internal matter between Pio-Trans and Litsamaiso, which the city established during the course of the day, whatever the factors were as to why there were disruptions on services. What is of interest to us is the movement of commuters to their respective destinations," Mabuza said.
She said the city has yet to establish the reasons for the dispute between these two parties at this stage.
"We are not quite sure as of yet, but we will be establishing the facts around these disruptions during the course of the day. There will be a meeting with the board and the board chairperson and everyone involved in the operations of the company," she said.
A taxi driver said he had already taken three loads from Orlando East to town by 7.30am.
"I do not know what is happening with Rea Vaya buses this morning, but I have already been to town three times already at this time of the morning," he said.
The Star