IPTS tickets on sale – for use after bus strike

NELSON Mandela Bay commuters who have enjoyed free rides on the municipality’s Integrated Public Transport System buses will have to start digging into their own pockets to make use of the service – but only once the national bus strike is over.

Officials said although the bus strike was ongoing, commuters could still buy IPTS tickets, to use when the buses were operational.

The service has been temporarily suspended for safety reasons due to the bus strike.

IPTS project manager Lutando Maboza said more than 250 tickets had been sold since April 24.

While he could not provide a detailed breakdown of the service’s budget, he said funding came from both a national and internal fund.

The municipality last week announced that four more taxi associations had come on board to boost the service’s operations.

They join six other taxi operators in the region.

Meanwhile, local taxi owners said they would not be joining the national bus strike, following a call by the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) for them to do so.

Saftu spokesman Patrick Craven said the union’s estimated 800 000 members were in solidarity with the strikers.

“We’ve called on all our members to mobilise with the striking bus drivers and we’ve also urged the taxi industry to join in as well,” he said.

Saftu’s call for a national public transport blackout was, however, unanimously rejected by both local and national taxi associations.

Striking bus drivers have vowed to intensify demonstrations this week.

The unions claim the employers have refused to meet them halfway during the mediation process.

“We have made different proposals and have offered compromises on our position‚ but the employers have steadfastly refused to budge‚” the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union, National Union of Metalworkers of SA, Transport and Allied Workers Union of SA, Transport and Omnibus Workers Union and Tirisano said.

The unions have also accused employers of lying about their role in mediation talks.

“They claim they never engaged on an offer of 9% for the first year and 9.5% for the second year, which is blatantly false. They made that offer last week at the mediation‚ but by the end of the talks they withdrew the offer‚” the unions said.

“The only offer on the table now is an offer which was proposed by mediators of 8% for the first year and 8.5% for the second year. And this includes that all other demands must fall away.

“We reject this offer with the contempt it deserves.”