This statement is what I would like but sadly our public transport system is deeply floored; some taxi's are falling apart especially Alexandra taxi's from and to Rivonia, metro buses break-down before you reach you final destination, the 'Rea Vaya' being the baby does not travel to my area but ends in town, and I can't afford to take the Guatrain to work every day.
I have always been able to say proudly that I use Metro Bus and I always had reliable transport until they start striking. At first, they had a really good reason for striking as, to my knowledge, they received a salary of R5000-R7000 (not sure if this was before or after dedications). After the drivers won the battle I was happy for them as I understood that they had more money to take home. Later I released that the more money you have the more debt you have.
The problem now is that metro bus drivers strike to promote corruption. The word on the street is that this time they don't like current management and want him gone, while SAMWU (South African Municipal Workers Union) is claiming the strike is about the lack of consultation before work schedules are changed, please read source link at end of article.
I take a 5c bus from Sandton where the 4:00 bus drivers works when he is happy which is two to five days a week and doesn't work the next work, or if he feel the bus is to full today he won't come to work/Sandton for a week. He fights with customer's, drives dangerously, and all this has been reported numerous times and sometimes after a complaint he comes for a week and then stop. I haven't seen the 5C bus the week and I'm tired of phoning and sending emails and now metro bus may be going on strike next week.
Not to say transport in Johannesburg is bad, No! You always will have transport, either a bus or taxi. Customer service needs to improve 200% and after I load my bus tag I expect the bus on my timetable to be there. I expect working transport all the time and on time, friendly service and if you don't want to talk to us cool but be there, and if I pay cash you shouldn't put my money in your packet and then deny me a slip.
Now I have to rethink my transport budget if these a strike. What they fail to see is that with lack of productivity customer will find a different alternative, money will stop flowing and the company (Metro Bus) will have to close its doors with all these strikes. They are been paid what they asked for but still they can't follow company rules, personally I blame the unions who started this culture of strikes never mind the positive work and improved working conditions achieved through protests. This leads me to believe that people don't want to be helped as they always find a way to ruined it.
There goes my lunch money, here comes a strike!
Source:
• http://www.salabournews.co.za/
• http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/labour/2013/07/03/employers-warn-of-job-cuts-unless-productivity-rises
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