Nelson Mandela Bay’s failed multi-billion-rand bus service

Dozens of buses are standing in the Cleary Park bus depot. Fewer than six buses are currently operational. Photos: Joseph Chirume

• The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has spent billions on a bus service that has all but collapsed.
• At its peak, the bus service transported more than a million passengers in one year. But by 2023, the number dropped to 104,000.
• In July this year, only three buses were operational, and another three appeared to have returned to service in August.
• The municipality spent tens of millions of rands on refurbishing buses last year, but ten buses broke down again and had to be repaired.
• GroundUp understands that six buses are standing at a Volvo dealership because the repair bill has not been settled by the municipality.

Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s multi-billion-rand bus service has all but collapsed.

Of the service’s 25 buses, no more than six are currently operating. At least 13 are standing at the bus depot. Another six were recently repaired by a Volvo dealership, but the municipality has failed to pay the account.

In 2009, Nelson Mandela Bay bought buses at a cost of R100-million to roll out a public bus system. The buses ran during the 2010 FIFA World Cup but were then left to gather dust.

Until 2018, millions of rands were spent on a bus system that was not running. A fleet of 200 minibus taxis was also procured from taxi associations, but they have now been declared unfit for use and have been decommissioned.

The bus system has been the subject of several investigations, including by the National Treasury and the Auditor-General, which found several corrupt contracts resulting in irregular expenditure and legal action.

In 2018, when the municipality was run by a DA-led coalition, the buses formed part of a new roll-out of an Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS). The bus system transported more than one million people a year.

The DA coalition was toppled in 2023, replaced by one led by the ANC, EFF and other parties. Between August 2023 and May 2024 the bus service did not operate at all. In the two months of the 2023/24 financial year that the service was operating, only 104,000 passengers were transported.

In July this year, only three of the buses were operational. It appears another three buses came back online in early August, according to a media statement released by the municipality.

An employee at the Cleary Park bus depot, where the buses are stored, told GroundUp that the bus service’s employees only work half days, and many don’t have anything to do.

A vandalised bus station in Gqeberha.

Millions spent on refurbishment

Nelson Mandela Bay municipality spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya told GroundUp that 13 of the buses were refurbished last year at a cost of R33-million. The year before, R21-million was spent on refurbishing buses, according to the municipality’s annual report.

Despite the refurbishments, ten buses broke down and had to go for further repairs, which cost an additional R5-million, Soyaya said.

Soyaya did not answer a follow-up question on why the buses broke down.

Currently, six buses are standing at Volvo’s dealership in Gqeberha after having been refurbished. The municipality has not yet paid for the services, and the buses will be released once the account for repairs is settled, Volvo South Africa said in a statement.

Soyaya did not respond to questions about why the Volvo bill has not been settled.

Meanwhile, bus stations along the Libhongolethu routes have been vandalised. “Should operations be revived, minimal additional investment will be required to reinstate the route infrastructure for public use,” said Soyaya.

The municipality was allocated R185-million to spend on the transport system in 2023/24, but only spent R29-million. Audited figures for 2024/25 are not yet available, but the municipality was allocated R88-million to spend on the transport system for the year.

The municipality plans to spend R387-million on the IPTS over the next three years.

200 taxis bought by the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality have been decommissioned and left to rust.

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