Former BCM staffer claims bus drivers are pocketing fares

A raft of allegations has been levelled against Buffalo City Metro’s beleaguered municipal bus service, including drivers pocketing thousands of rands and ignoring routes and employees “doing what they like”.

The allegations, some of which have been supported by commuters making use of public transport, have been made by a former driver for the bus service, Deon Whittal, 54, who was medically boarded in 2016 after suffering a collapsed lung.

An investigation by the Dispatch this week found several instances where passengers paid their fare but were not ticketed. Bus drivers were also not sticking to their scheduled departure times.

However, BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya has dismissed the claims, saying the municipality would not comment on such “wild and unproven allegations”.

Whittal drove for the service for 12 years, and has maintained an intimate knowledge of current operations through connections in the local transport industry.

He claimed:

● There were drivers who were not issuing tickets and were pocketing fare money;

● Some drivers tore down signs that informed passengers they need to be in a possession of a ticket;

● Some drivers were making good money from fares;

● Some driving shifts were more lucrative than others.

● There was an issue of a drivers’ licence being bought.

BCM has only five large buses and one small one. They operate in West Bank, Cambridge, Amalinda, Dawn, Baysville and Nahoon. On some routes, for example, passengers were more inclined to pay for R14 tickets rather than make use of clipcards, in which case no money was exchanged.

One such route was the 6.25am starting at Collondale, which dropped off schoolchildren who paid for tickets.

Another so-called “lucrative” route was the “Shift B” afternoon route from Grens High to Cambridge, which also carried many schoolchildren.

Prior to being medically boarded, Whittal said he had personally seen a bus inspector “jumping on the bus just so he could go grocery shopping”.

“This happened regularly. He wouldn’t check tickets or anyey thing.” Whittal also alleged that drivers were “not doing the routes they are supposed to”, and taking shortcuts.

“When they see the traffic is heavy, they just take shortcuts, leaving many kids and domestic workers stranded.

“They also leave bus stops much earlier than they are supposed to, leaving passengers stranded.

In addition, he claimed that a senior depot official was seldom at work.

Asked why he had not come forward when he was in the employ of the municipality, Whittal said he had feared losing his job.

Greenfields commuter Megan Nel said she was losing monthe as she paid for her bus tickets upfront, but the buses did not always arrive.

“I have phoned to complain, but am always told the service is short-staffed. The other day the Greenfields bus that is supposed to stop at 6.30am had already driven past at 6.05am.

“There were about 20 people including kids [stranded].”

She added that she had seen “first-hand” how some drivers even allowed people to take the bus for free.

Nel pays R126 for a clipcard of 10 clips, which lasts about a week. She pays the same for her daughter.

“We usually buy for the whole month though, so we are losing a lot of money because of the unreliable bus service.”

Japie du Plessis, the principal of Grens High, was not aware of exactly how many buses currently served his pupils, but there were four daily drop-offs and pick-ups at the school in 2018. This was less than had been in previous years.

“Our pupils have to make arrangements to go with other parents or seek alternative transportation,” he said.

Ngwenya said the municipality wanted to caution the newspaper to “exercise its obligations when it comes to protecting the identities and reputations of those defenceless”.

“The gentleman [Whittal] had an entire decade to raise these issues via the right channels internally, and on top of that the municipality has a fraud hotline for anonymous people to raise any allegations of corruption and fraud,” he said.

A damning report tabled before the BCM council at the end of 2017 revealed the suburban bus routes have run at a loss of R48m in the past eight years.

When they see the traffic is heavy, they just take short cuts, leaving many kids and domestic workers stranded