t @soshtimes NOVEMBER 2017
SOSHTIMES
f soshtimesnews
www.soshtimes.co.za
A
LATE APRIL 2018
INCORPORATING The North West Post,The Platinum’s mouth piece APRIL 2018 MARCH 2018 facebook
soshtimes newspaper
LATE LATEEDITION EDITION
BRINGING NEWS TO THE PEOPLE twitter @soshtimes
web
enquiries
NEWSROOM
office
www.soshtimes.co.za
admin@soshtimes.co.za
editorial@soshtimes.co.za
012 797 2397
Cash in transit robbery - PAGE 2
Commuters left stranded by bus strike
By Tlaki Baloyi
B
us commuters around the country were left stranded when bus drivers embarked on a nationwide wage increase strike recently. In Soshanguve the situation was not any different as commuters had to find alternative transport or stay away from school or work. According to Putco, the main bus service provider in Soshanguve, labour unions representing workers at the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council (SARPBAC), gave notice to employer organisations in
the bus industry of the intended strike which commenced on Wednesday, the 18th of April. The bus company said the strike was beyond their control as a company and that the disruption of the bus service would go on until the strike is called off by the unions in question. It advised its passengers in possession of printed tickets and tag trip receipts to keep the tickets and the receipts until the bus service and the ticket sales have resumed. Putco also promised the passengers who lost trips because of the strike that they will receive a discount at their next purchase as soon as the strike is called off. One of the commuters, Mma-
batho Mokoena said the situation is very sad because not only does it affect their schedule, but it will also leave a dent in their pockets as they now have to use taxis which are paid on a daily basis. “This is going to be a difficult one because now one has to make provision for taxi fares. Taxis are very expensive that is why we turn to busses because once you buy a ticket at the beginning of the month it will last you the entire month. What makes matters worse is the fact my husband also uses the bus to commute to work and so does my daughter when she goes to school, this means even more
money for us” said Mokoena. Another commuter, Sabelo Manzini was even more disgruntled, he said it was inconsiderate of these bus companies to start their strikes in the middle of the month. “How do they think we will commute to work?” asked Manzini. “They were supposed to start these strikes at the beginning of the month, they can’t sell us tickets then decide to strike in the middle of the month. What makes it worse is the fact that this strike began mid-week, on a Wednesday, still, it is very inconvenient that somebody bought a weekly ticket which they only got to use for two day, that’s
very inconsiderate” he added. When Sosh Times approached him, Ofentse Maluleka was leaving the bus stop, about to go back home. He said even though the money he had on him was enough for a taxi fare to get to school, it was not enough to cover the return taxi fare so he had no choice but to go back home. “My pocket money is not enough to get me to school and to come back so I don’t have much choice. This is not on because now I have to miss school because of this strike. There isn’t much I can do because there is no one at home, so I’m not going to be able to get the extra taxi fare” said Maluleka.