By Arthi Sanpath
Transport MEC Bheki Cele on Friday vowed not to back down on his ban on SA Roadlink buses in KwaZulu-Natal.
He also pledged to establish roadblocks throughout the province to stop the buses if they tried to defy his suspension of the service, which takes effect at midnight.
Speaking before a meeting with Alan Reddy, chairman of SA Roadlink, Cele said he would not relent.
"There is no way that I will change my mind. It's about defending the weak."
He said SA Roadlink's purpose was to make money, while his department's duty was to protect lives. This is where the clash occurred.
Paul Browning, an independent transport consultant who also consults with the national Department of Transport, said there was an urgent need for a body to monitor buses on the roads.
Browning said the industry was unregulated and, unless urgent action was taken, more lives could be lost in bus accidents.
He has suggested that long-distance buses use a "Black Box", as well as a body of "traffic controllers" similar to that in the aviation industry, to monitor buses on the roads.
Browning's comments come after the horrific SA Roadlink bus crash on Tuesday morning that claimed 11 lives in Hibberdene, including six members of one family.
But that was not the only incident in which SA Roadlink buses were involved in accidents, Cele has pointed out.
Since December 2006, several accidents had been recorded; 23 people had died and countless others were injured. Bus drivers had also been caught under the influence of alcohol, Cele said yesterday.
On Tuesday, Cele slapped a ban on the company, to come into effect at midnight on Friday, to stop it operating in the province.
SA Roadlink chairman Allan Reddy has defiantly said the company would continue operating.
Browning said the intercity bus industry began in the mid 1980s and was an immediate success, but the advent of low-cost airlines took "a big slice out of the coach market". This resulted in bus companies finding themselves under huge financial constraints, which he thought might be the underlying reason for the lack of maintenance.
"The laws in place are loosely enforced, and logbook checks and maintenance records are probably not done as frequently or with as much rigour as needed," said Brown.
He added that operating policies were also of major concern.
"Drivers are made to work extensive hours and probably put under pressure because everything is operating on tight margins."
He questioned whether drivers were being trained properly and allowed to take the required amount of breaks and rest periods to be alert while driving.
"Maybe we need a mechanism similar to a plane's Black Box to record all mechanical details."
He also suggested creating a body similar to that of the air traffic controllers which would be able to monitor the buses as they travelled from city to city.
"The buses would be monitored from an independent place and action would be taken if bus drivers were speeding, for example."
He suggested that the department of transport's Road Traffic Management Corporation might be the body to co-ordinate a traffic control centre for intercity coaches.
But the lack of intervention from the authorities might be the result of a lack of analysis of the problems faced by the coach liner industry, said Rob Handfield-Jones, public affairs manager for Arrive Alive.
He said there had not been any new research into the number of crashes involving buses.
The last research was completed in 1998, and the data from that showed that one in three buses was involved in an accident.
Handfield-Jones said that data showed there was a 6.9% chance of being a fatality if a person commuted by bus. "In 2006, this percentage rose to 12.02%, which means it practically doubled," he said.
"With good data, one can present these facts to parliament and resolve to take action because we would know where the problem lies. Right now, we are groping in the dark," said Handfield-Jones.
This lack of research and understanding of the causes of the accidents was an indication of an industry operating on a "free-for-all" principle.
He gave the example of the bus industry in Australia where it was mandatory for roll-cages to be installed in buses and three-point seatbelts for passengers.
It was important for the bus industry operators to demonstrate that they were concerned about the welfare of their passengers, he said.
"They need to ensure that their vehicles were well maintained and up to date with the latest safety technology," said Handfield-Jones.
Additional reporting by Mpume Madlala
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