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Four Buffalo City Metro buses transporting pupils and nurses are only sanitised once a week, according to some workers at the Arcadia, East London bus depot.
As detailed in the updated public transport directions under lockdown level 3, all operators transporting locally must ensure that public transport vehicles are sanitised before picking up passengers and again after dropping them off.
During an oversight visit of the bus depot in Arcadia, East London by DA councillor Sue Bentley on Tuesday morning, a bus driver said the buses were only sanitised once a week.
The bus driver, who refused to give his name, first told Bentley and DispatchLIVE that accompanied her that the buses were Covid-19 compliant and safe to use.
However, he then admitted the buses were only sanitised once a week.
But BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said the buses were “cleaned every day after a trip by the municipal general workers”. He said the depot “was deep-cleaned by BCM health” and all vehicles were also disinfected.
“There are no positive cases at the depot to date, and this fact throws the whole so-called exposé out of the window,” said Ngwenya.
“It’s important for us to manage the anxiety and fears around Covid-19 and it is very disappointing to learn that there are expeditions being held to do such things. The BCM command council sits on a weekly basis and that is a genuine platform to raise any concerns for all those who have the interests of our citizens at heart,” said Ngwenya.
On July 16, transport minister Fikile Mbalula announced that buses, taxis, e-hailing vehicles, meter taxis, shuttle services, chauffeur-driven vehicles and scholar transport vehicles are permitted to carry 100% of their licensed carry capacity for any trip not regarded as long distance travel.
But the bus driver said 70-seater buses were operating on the basis of 50% capacity — or about 35 passengers. That said, many schoolchildren and civil servants use the service.
The municipality also has a 27-seater in its fleet, meaning that about 13 passengers can be transported at a time.
“These buses are safe because they are sanitised once a week, and all the drivers follow protocols when they load passengers. We have sanitisers and there’s social distancing among passengers,” said the driver.
