City of Tshwane provides buses for SASSA beneficiaries
31 March 2020
The Acting City Manager of Tshwane Mavela Dlamini has today made available a fleet of 15 buses drawn from the Tshwane Bus Service (TBS) and A Re Yeng to ferry the elderly and the physically challenged persons for “free” from identified locations to SASSA social grant pay-points from 8am to 4pm.
The move is in line with the directive issued by national government to cater for the elderly and the physically challenged during the 21-day lockdown period announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week.
The TBS and A Re Yeng fleet will operate in five of the seven regions, except in regions 5 and 7, after they were chased out by local taxi operators in Bronkhorspruit, in Region 7, yesterday. Thanks to the vigilance and adroitness of our drivers when they sensed danger, they were able to flee to the Bronkhorspruit Police Station for safety, from where they were escorted by the Saps and Tshwane Metro Police Department back to the depot in the Tshwane CBD. A Re Yeng is operating two buses in Mamelodi, Region 6.
Dlamini has condemned the behaviour of the taxi operators who chased away our buses in Bronkhorspruit yesterday. “It is quite disturbing in these crucial period when we ought to be working together in furtherance of the interests of our people, especially the vulnerable in our community, to hear of threats directed at our drivers, assets as well as the elderly and the physically challenged,” Dlamini fumed.
“We implore our community to cooperate with our officials to enable us to comply with physical distancing at the pay points as well as in the buses to observe the standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on physical distancing. We also wish to emphasise the point that this special dispensation is meant for the elderly and for the physically challenged only until they have received their monies. In times like these we have to show compassion to the most vulnerable of our society as a caring government, Dlamini added.
The areas in the five regions where the buses will be operating are the following:
- Hammanskraal
- Soshanguve
- Mabopane
- Olivenhoutbosch
- Atteridgeville
- Ga-rankuwa
- Winterveldt
- Stinkwater
- Suurman
- Temba
- Majaneng
- New Eersterus
- Kameelsdrift
- Lotus Gardens
- Inner City
- Phomolong
- Mooiplaas
- Safi Sami
- Skietbaan
- Eersterus
- Mamelodi
The City will also intensify the transportation of the homeless and the destitute from the Caledonian stadium to other identified sites where they will be accommodated for the duration of the 21-day lockdown period. This, the city is doing to ensure that we prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19, commonly known as the corona virus.
Issued by Communication, Marketing and Events Department.