PioTrans back on road

After weeks of controversy and a court interdict, Rea Vaya bus operator PioTrans has been relaunched.

In December, Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya operator was placed under business rescue after creditors tried to seize buses due to its outstanding debt.

An interdict was handed down by the Labour Court preventing employees from embarking on a strike.

City of Joburg transport MMC Kenny Kunene, speaking at the Rea Vaya depot where PioTrans was relaunching, recalled how tough the situation was last year when he was called to intervene when the PioTrans drivers were on strike.

“I finally understood why the drivers were on strike.

“The 12-year contract ended in January 2023 and on 1 February PioTrans was supposed to be appointed.

“But they weren’t because they didn’t have a tax clearance certificate,” Kunene said.

Kunene claimed PioTrans was a multibillion-rand company that was reduced “to nothing by evil people who came here and stole blindly from all these old people”.

He said the board had informed him it could not rescue PioTrans as it had too much debt.

It owed the SA Revenue Service about R80 million as well as other creditors.

Business rescue practitioner (BRP) Mahier Tayob said when he assumed the role in December, PioTrans had an average of 10 buses on the road. Today it has 45.

Tayob said PioTrans would become profitable, historic debt would be serviced, employment safeguarded and drivers paid.

President of the South African Bus Rapid Transport Association Andile Peters highlighted that shareholders had “put themselves in this mess”.

“I have been with PioTrans for so long and we have been talking with no solutions.

“Today I stand with Mr Tayob because we are going to achieve what we couldn’t for the past 12 years,” he said.

Peters also urged the South African National Taxi Council to support PioTrans.

Kunene sent a sharp message to officials who were thinking of destroying PioTrans and to mechanics who, he said, had been destroying buses: “run”.