19 December 2008: Passengers board buses despite ban

article from IOL

By Beauregard Tromp and Bonile Ngqiyaza

While national bus operator SA Roadlink tried to avoid a ban on operating throughout KwaZulu-Natal, passengers at Joburg's Park station were left with little option other than to get on the buses.

Roadlink on Thursday challenged the right of KwaZulu Natal Safety and Security MEC Bheki Cele to suspend its operations in the province, after 11 people died in a Roadlink bus crash earlier this week.

Roadlink chairperson Allan Reddy described Cele's actions as "unprofessional" and said his action would be unconstitutional if he proceeded with it.

At Park station, terminals were packed to capacity, with people making their way home to all parts of the country, many of them brandishing tickets to travel with the much maligned Roadlink.

"I tried to get a ticket with Greyhound yesterday but they were booked out. What can I do? I don't think I can even get a refund. I must get home," said Titus Nyathi, who was travelling to Port Elizabeth.

Many of the passengers patiently queueing to board their Roadlink bus were unaware of the horrific accident in KwaZulu-Natal, and expressed concern about their safety.

"The MEC doesn't have authority to suspend permits just like that," Reddy said on Thursday.

Flanked by Roadlink risk manager Herman Steyn and spokesperson Sam Fidelis, Reddy showed correspondence from the company's lawyers sent on Thursday to Cele regarding the impending suspension, which is due to start at midnight on Friday.

Reddy said a meeting had been scheduled with Cele today (Friday) to "clear up these issues".

In the letter dated Thursday, Roadlink legal representative Stephnie Steyn said the bus company had not received notification of the suspension two days ago, as KwaZulu-Natal authorities had claimed.

Steyn said any action taken had to be in line with the constitution and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, and threatened to take the MEC to court.

Reddy said the company had hired independent forensic experts to investigate the cause of this week's crash.

Fidelis promised that passengers who didn't want to use Roadlink because of the impending suspension would be refunded.

The South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union welcomed Cele's decision as "long overdue".