About 52 SA Roadlink bus passengers were left stranded for more than five hours on Wednesday morning, when their bus broke down near the intersection of Beaufort and Bathurst streets.
About 52 SA Roadlink bus passengers were left stranded for more than five hours on Wednesday morning, when their bus broke down near the intersection of Beaufort and Bathurst streets.
The bus was travelling from Cape Town to Durban, via Port Elizabeth and East London. Furious passengers lambasted Roadlink for not responding promptly to their predicament. Luyanda Maphikwa said he had called the company's head office and was promised that his call would be returned.
“The lady who answered the phone did not call me back, and when I tried to call again, the phone was not picked up,” said an irate Maphikwa.
Another passenger, Carla Ezeabuchi, who was travelling with her 6-month-old daughter, said she was concerned about the children who were on the bus without food or drink. Thembisa Sineyi said the bus company had no respect for passengers. “They don't even inform us when there's a delay,” she said.
One of the bus drivers, who did not want to be named, said the breakdown was due to a broken water pump, and that the bus would be towed to a depot in Port Elizabeth. Adding to the delay, local traffic officers who arrived to redirect traffic around the bus, discovered that it had no permit to operate in the area.
An officer at the scene said the driver would be charged for using the wrong permit. “They can bring another bus, but its permit must be in order,” said the officer.
Passengers were eventually fetched up by another bus, but only after it was put through its paces at the Makana Road Traffic Inspectorate Testing Centre.
