Johannesburg – The Public Utility Transport Corporation (PUTCO) on Monday suspended services after a bus was hijacked and the female driver ejected in Soshanguve, Tshwane, and another of its buses stoned in the Braamfischer area in Soweto, where passengers were forced to flee.
“PUTCO has temporarily suspended some of its bus operations due to intimidation today,” the company said Monday.
“Our staff buses were the first to encounter blocked roads and intimidation from demonstrators taking part in the National Shutdown protest as they attempted to collect bus drivers aiming to report for duty in the early hours of Monday morning 20 March 2023.”
PUTCO said there were other incidents linked to the Economic Freedom Fighters’ highly publicised “national shutdown” protests planned for Monday to press for – among other issues – the end of load-shedding and the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
PUTCO listed several incidents aimed at disrupting its operations that included:
- Soweto – Buses were stoned and damaged in the Braamfischer area. Passengers were forced to flee and the bus was abandoned. The bus has since been recovered.
- Eldorado Park – Staff buses couldn’t access the Vaal areas for picking up drivers as a result buses from Nancefield depot couldn’t operate. A bus belonging to a Putco subcontractor was stoned by protestors in the same area.
- Soshanguve – A bus was hijacked, the female driver was pushed out of the bus and it was used to block a road in Dennilton but police quickly recovered it and it was taken back to the local depot. Protestors also demanded that buses be made available to transport them to their rally and our security personnel acted swiftly and prevented them from entering the depot.
- Tshwane and Mpumalanga – Routes have been blocked and are unsafe to use, including the Moloto road, which is the main route between the two provinces of Gauteng and Mpumalanga. One staff bus from Mountainview had to take refuge at the KwaMhlanga Police Station.
- Ekangala – there were no passengers at most bus stops. The area is relatively peaceful, and police are patrolling the area. Putco has logged these and many other incidents to the Command Centre established by the government.
“All the operations teams are on high alert and monitoring developments,” PUTCO said.
