By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Bus service Putco has confirmed its services will resume on Friday, after meetings with the Gauteng department of roads and transport and Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi.
Putco on Wednesday announced it was suspending operations from Thursday until further notice.
Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said it had a meeting with the Gauteng provincial government on Thursday and said operations will resume on Friday, after an agreement was reached.
The bus service interruption affected commuters in Limpopo, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
Lesufi said he is pleased that they have reached an agreement and that concerns raised by bus operators will be addressed to ensure that residents continue to have safe, reliable and affordable transport.
“On behalf on the Gauteng provincial government I want to profusely apologise to the passengers, to the sector and all those that were affected and harmed by the non-availability of Putco services in our province.
I can safely and confidently declare that Putco buses will run as usual first thing tomorrow (Friday) morning and that all the logistical arrangements that led to this delay have been resolved and all parties have said that they are ready to render their services,” said Lesufi.
Lesufi clarified that the delay of subsidy payment for Putco was due to guidance by the auditor general’s office.
“We used to pay this allocation in advance and the auditor general last year declared that exercise as irregular, which means the services must be rendered first before you pay.
“And that new regulation kicked in now in the month of March, “said Lesufi.
Lesufi said the provincial government has now resolved to have a long-term service agreement with bus service providers.
“This is the first time in 76 years, that this kind of service disruption occurred and I want to assure, to avoid this we are ready now to have a long term service agreement with the entire bus service sector. If we sign and finalise that, this disruption will be history, added Lesufi.”