We'll fight bus ban, says SA Roadlink
4 January 2010, 09:24
By Murray Williams and Esther Lewis
Embattled national bus operator SA Roadlink is determined to fight for its right to run on Cape roads as provincial Transport MEC Robin Carlisle repeated his vow on Monday to ban the company.
He was convening a top-level emergency meeting today to discuss ways of getting the company's vehicles off the province's roads after one of its drivers was arrested on Saturday for being over the alcohol limit.
SA Roadlink has also been summoned to a meeting with national Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele, according to ministerial spokesman Logan Maistry.
Maistry said the minister's decision, made a month ago, stemmed from several incidents involving the bus operator. No date for the meeting had been fixed, but it would be held as soon as possible.
In the latest incident in the Western Cape, a 45-year-old driver, transporting 70 passengers from the Western Cape to Joburg, was subjected to a breathalyser test by traffic officers on the N1 in Worcester.
The legal limit for professional drivers is 0.02, while the limit for regular drivers is 0.05. The driver registered 0.57 and was immediately arrested.
Carlisle and Community Safety MEC Lennit Max plan to consult their heads of department, as well as legal and regulatory experts, following the sixth incident involving SA Roadlink in the space of three weeks.
Two of its buses were pulled from the roads in George and Knysna on New Year's Day during routine checks.
And about two weeks ago, three of its buses were taken off the road in George, leaving 136 passengers stranded.
Carlisle said there had been 12 incidents involving the company in the past two months.
He said today that it was hoped the following would be established: "Can we ban them? Can we withdraw their permits?
"Or, if not, what type of consequences can we impose, like impounding unroadworthy vehicles right up until the cases reach court?"
But SA Roadlink spokeswoman Lumka Oliphant has hit back.
"We are not worried about those statements," she said.
"Bheki Cele (then KwaZulu-Natal Transport MEC) tried to force us off the roads (in 2007). We took him to court, and we won."
Oliphant said the company had taken the extraordinary step recently of re-testing their fleet's 50 coaches for roadworthiness, and all had passed.
She said SA Roadlink had also taken the initiative to try to meet the two Western Cape MECs, Max and Carlisle, following "relentless harassment" in the province recently.
"Our coaches were stopped more than 200 times in December in George alone," she reported.
"We requested a meeting and have said we will co-operate, but were told they could only meet on January 11.
"So that is why we find these statements strange."
Oliphant said the company was happy with the legal processes against the allegedly drunk driver.
Carlisle said the inter-departmental team's intention was "to see whether we can legally prevent the future operation of SA Roadlink buses in the Western Cape".
Failing that, the team would determine whether they could legally withdraw the operating licences in the province, or find other ways to discourage buses from entering the province.
An angry Carlisle said he had met SA Roadlink's CEO in July and that he had been given assurances that all buses that entered the Western Cape would be roadworthy, that two drivers would be on board for long distance trips and that the company would comply with all regulations.
"I am therefore furious that SA Roadlink continues to send buses to this province that are a threat to their passengers and to other road users," said Carlisle.
Late last year SA Roadlink installed CCTV cameras on its buses to monitor driver behaviour and fatigue.
SA Roadlink operates coach trips between Cape Town and Joburg, Durban, East London and King William's Town.
The company, which has a fleet of 50 buses, makes an average of 30 intercity trips a day.
Its new buses can carry 72 passengers a trip.
Embattled national bus operator SA Roadlink is determined to fight for its right to run on Cape roads as provincial Transport MEC Robin Carlisle repeated his vow on Monday to ban the company.
He was convening a top-level emergency meeting today to discuss ways of getting the company's vehicles off the province's roads after one of its drivers was arrested on Saturday for being over the alcohol limit.
SA Roadlink has also been summoned to a meeting with national Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele, according to ministerial spokesman Logan Maistry.
Maistry said the minister's decision, made a month ago, stemmed from several incidents involving the bus operator. No date for the meeting had been fixed, but it would be held as soon as possible.
In the latest incident in the Western Cape, a 45-year-old driver, transporting 70 passengers from the Western Cape to Joburg, was subjected to a breathalyser test by traffic officers on the N1 in Worcester.
The legal limit for professional drivers is 0.02, while the limit for regular drivers is 0.05. The driver registered 0.57 and was immediately arrested.
Carlisle and Community Safety MEC Lennit Max plan to consult their heads of department, as well as legal and regulatory experts, following the sixth incident involving SA Roadlink in the space of three weeks.
Two of its buses were pulled from the roads in George and Knysna on New Year's Day during routine checks.
And about two weeks ago, three of its buses were taken off the road in George, leaving 136 passengers stranded.
Carlisle said there had been 12 incidents involving the company in the past two months.
He said today that it was hoped the following would be established: "Can we ban them? Can we withdraw their permits?
"Or, if not, what type of consequences can we impose, like impounding unroadworthy vehicles right up until the cases reach court?"
But SA Roadlink spokeswoman Lumka Oliphant has hit back.
"We are not worried about those statements," she said.
"Bheki Cele (then KwaZulu-Natal Transport MEC) tried to force us off the roads (in 2007). We took him to court, and we won."
Oliphant said the company had taken the extraordinary step recently of re-testing their fleet's 50 coaches for roadworthiness, and all had passed.
She said SA Roadlink had also taken the initiative to try to meet the two Western Cape MECs, Max and Carlisle, following "relentless harassment" in the province recently.
"Our coaches were stopped more than 200 times in December in George alone," she reported.
"We requested a meeting and have said we will co-operate, but were told they could only meet on January 11.
"So that is why we find these statements strange."
Oliphant said the company was happy with the legal processes against the allegedly drunk driver.
Carlisle said the inter-departmental team's intention was "to see whether we can legally prevent the future operation of SA Roadlink buses in the Western Cape".
Failing that, the team would determine whether they could legally withdraw the operating licences in the province, or find other ways to discourage buses from entering the province.
An angry Carlisle said he had met SA Roadlink's CEO in July and that he had been given assurances that all buses that entered the Western Cape would be roadworthy, that two drivers would be on board for long distance trips and that the company would comply with all regulations.
"I am therefore furious that SA Roadlink continues to send buses to this province that are a threat to their passengers and to other road users," said Carlisle.
Late last year SA Roadlink installed CCTV cameras on its buses to monitor driver behaviour and fatigue.
SA Roadlink operates coach trips between Cape Town and Joburg, Durban, East London and King William's Town.
The company, which has a fleet of 50 buses, makes an average of 30 intercity trips a day.
Its new buses can carry 72 passengers a trip.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Argus on January 04, 2010
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