SUNDAY TRIBUNE JULY 12 2009

10 NEWS
Paris too busy to meet her pledge
MIAMI: Its Paris Hiltons turn to tell her side of the story in a lawsuit claiming she didnt do enough to promote her 2006 sorority movie Pledge This! The 28-year-old heiress was scheduled to take the stand in her own defence on Friday in a federal courtroom in Miami. The lawsuit brought by movie investors seeks more than $8 million (R65m), claiming Hilton reneged on a contract to promote the film. They say she refused interviews and other promotional opportunities. Hilton contends she plugged the movie extensively and met the contracts requirements. She says the producers made unreasonable demands for appearances when her schedule was full. The movie cost $7.5m to make but earned only $2.9m. Sapa-AP

Durban hitches new ride

An era of poor service for bus commuters might soon end. Matthew Savides and Buhle Mbonambi look at the company that will run the citys buses
FTER six years of battling the often poor service provided by Remant Alton, Durbanites could soon have a reliable and efficient bus service. It was confirmed last week that Tansnat Africa, which runs a fleet of 800 buses across South Africa, will take over the Durban Transport bus contract until it expires at the end of September next year. eThekwini municipality mayor Obed Mlaba said last week that Tansnat was the right company to take over. Tansnat Africa has a huge fleet They have good systems in place and their management is well grounded in this kind of business.

Paris Hilton arrives at a federal court in Miami, on Friday. She is accused in a federal lawsuit of failing to adequately promote her 2006 movie Pledge This! Picture: AP

July 20 is the starting date mentioned in a statement by KwaZulu-Natal Transport MEC Bheki Cele. But how will the company run the service effectively given that it faces , the same conditions as its predecessor? Remant Alton, which closed at the end of last month, blamed its financial difficulties on non or under-payment of Transport and Education department subsidies. Tansnat Africa will receive the same subsidies. But the companys CEO, Mike Jesseman, said there were substantial changes. First, he said the inner-city bus service would be run by taxi operators, meaning the Mynah buses and People Movers would not fall under

NT_NWS_E1_120709_p10 C M Y K

Transport revolution

his companys operation. Also, the service was being downsized from 650 buses to about 450. Fewer buses meant less fuel and fewer drivers to pay . This is in line with the subsidies and cash fares we expect to receive. If the municipality or the provincial transport department want things (trips or routes) added, they must pay for it, he said. Mlaba said the structure was being changed so that only the mainstream routes would be covered, describing it as a case of cutting your cloth to suit your size. Smaller private operators and taxis would be consulted to ensure the balance of the routes were catered for, he said. Jesseman said the fact that

the buses were now owned by the municipality, after a R405 million buy-back last year made fleet management easier. The vehicles have maintenance contracts with the manufacturers. There are substantial safeguards in place to protect us and the council, he said. Jesseman said the company had had substantial experience in running bus services, and operated buses in Johannesburg, Richards Bay Newcastle, , Pietermaritzburg, Vryheid and the Western Cape. Ikhwezi Bus Service was initially mooted to take over the service but is, in fact, a subsidiary of Tansnat Africa. Ikhwezi has run buses in parts of Zululand for more

than 20 years. For the most part, commuters are happy with the service it runs and Durbanites will be hoping for the same. There are newer, top-of-therange buses and the service they give is good, said commuter Ntombenhle Mthethwa. Ikhwezi also provides dedicated services for schools and local factories. Im happy with the service given by Ikhwezi, said Sibongiseni Mkhize of Esikhawini, outside Richards Bay. But they are very expensive compared to the taxis. During a recent driver strike, Ikhwezi lowered ticket prices to make up for the commuters grievances. matthew.savides@inl.co.za

WHAT TANSNAT AFRICA DOES

Has a fleet of more than 800 buses operating across the country, including: G Ikhwezi Bus Service in Richards Bay and Empangeni. G Sizanani maZulu (SMT) in Pietermaritzburg. G Imondlo Bus Service in Vryheid. It also runs two luxury travel coach lines, Express Liners and Gauteng Coaches, which run between Durban and Johannesburg. Buhle Mbonambi

Not such a large slice of pie for taxi drivers

MATTHEW SAVIDES
TAXI operators will not have as big a share of the Durban Transport bus service as reported last week, municipal officials said yesterday . Media reports indicated the taxi operators would get about 40 percent of the operaEUGENE tion, comprising the Durban CBD and some of the surrounding areas. While this was mentioned by Tansnat Africa CEO Mike Jesseman and confirmed by KZN Transport Alliance chairman Eugene Hadebe, the eThekwini municipality said the operation being considered for taxi bosses to run was nowhere close to 40 percent of the total. I am not aware of taxi operators getting any such stake, said Erik Moller, the eThekwini municipality deputy head of public transport. He confirmed negotiations were taking place with taxi operators about taking over the CBD routes, but that this was not as large as was reported. It has been suggested the People Mover and Mynah buses could be given to taxi bosses. This would translate to fewer than 70 buses, compared to the 450 buses being run by Tansnat Africa. Eugene Hadebe, a prominent player in the local taxi industry con, firmed taxi bosses would be given a share of the bus operation, but that there was as yet no indication of exactly how this would work. He said meetings had been scheduled and that he would have a clearer picture of HADEBE tomorrow. the situation However, he specifically mentioned the taxi operators getting a 40 percent share of the operation. He acknowledged criticism regarding the behaviour of taxi drivers and complaints of bad and dangerous driving, but made assurances that passengers on the taxirun buses would be safe. We will be giving all our drivers training, not only in terms of the skills to drive the buses, but also training in customer care. I firmly believe that the customer is always right, and that drivers must listen to the customer after all, the customer is bigger than the driver and the operator, Hadebe said. Certificates would be issued to those who received the training, and only drivers who obtained the certificates would be allowed to drive the buses, he added. matthew.savides@inl.co.za

Snubbed and sore

MATTHEW SAVIDES
DURBAN-BASED bus operators are upset that the eThekwini Municipality did not consult them in appointing an out-of-town company to take over the largest part of the interim Durban Transport bus service. Two established local operators one based in the south of the city and the other in the inner west said the lack of consultation was unfair, especially as they had to step in to assist the council when Remant Alton ran into trouble. South Coast Bus Service managing director Pickey Dass said it was disappointing that his company , which had been shortlisted with Remant Alton and another consortium for the Durban Transport contract when the service was privatised in 2003, was not considered to run the interim contract. The companys general manager, Seresh Mohunlal, said, I would have thought, ethically, it made sense to go back to that (original shortlist) when Remant Alton failed. Dass said he had contacted City Manager Mike Sutcliffe in the past, including once in 2006, to offer the companys services when Remant Alton had problems but he had never received a response. He described the municipalitys decision to appoint a new operator without consulting other possible operators as a slap in the face. What has changed between 2003 and now that would make us unsuitable to run the service? Mohunlal asked. Dass added, If the municipality had handled this the correct way , consulted with all the operators and made a request for proposals to take over, then we wouldnt have minded. But this (the decision to appoint Tansnat Africa) was unilateral. Mohamed Asmal, managing director of Durban-based Olympic Bus Lines, criticised the municipality for electing to omit the local operators in the selection process. Our company being part of the , consortium that was initially shortlisted for the 2003 tender, was not even consulted and/or requested to submit any proposals for the current interim operation, he said in an e-mail to the Sunday Tribune. Furthermore, one would have expected the eThekwini Municipality to have given the local ratepayers some preference. Durban has some experienced, reliable and major bus operators yet they were overlooked, he said.