Kunene accuses Joburg mayor of ‘punching above his paygrade’ over Rea Vaya bus service suspension

Johannesburg MMC for Roads or Transport Kenny Kunene said Executive Mayor Dada Morero ‘overstepped’ by suspending the Rea Vaya feeder buses in Soweto.

The buses which collect passengers from local routes and feed them into the main Rea Vaya lines were stopped after disputes with taxi associations and financial challenges with the operating company Piotrans.

He explained that upon initially meeting with the taxi associations, they had requested a meeting with Morero, whereby Morero unilaterally decided to halt the feeder buses, requesting that the taxi associations put their demands in writing.

Kunene says the financial, legal, operational, and contractual implications were made clear to Morero.

“It was made clear to the mayor the financial implications. As we speak, that decision is costing the city R1.9 million for Piotrans per week and R400,000 for Litsamaiso (operators),” Kunene said.

He added that halting the feeder buses is not the decision of the Mayor, but rather the national Department of Transport.

“They were very clear, the mayor has no authority over this operation, except to facilitate and implement it as the City. Therefore, the Mayor is punching above his paygrade.

“In the interest of transparency, accountability, and honesty, which we are expected to do as government officials, I decided to clear this matter by going public.”

Kunene said the feeder buses were important as they accounted for 60% of the passenger collections.

To listen to Kunene in conversation with 702 and CapeTalk’s Mandy Wiener, click the audio player below: