Putco to suspend services because Gauteng hasn't paid subsidy

Putco says it will suspend its services from Thursday until further notice, due to diesel shortages as a result of an unpaid subsidy by the Gauteng government. 

The bus company said it had not received its March subsidy from the Gauteng department of roads and transport and as a result, it was experiencing diesel shortage. 

Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said the bus company was working closely with the government to ensure that payments were processed as soon as possible to avoid a prolonged service disruption as well as inconvenience to their passengers.

“Should the situation improve, stakeholders will be informed timeously. The underfunding of the bus public transport industry as well as the excessive fuel increases in the past few months have worsened the situation. In addition, the relief that the bus industry requested has not been granted, leaving bus operators in a very difficult situation,” Xulu said. 

Meanwhile, the Gauteng department of roads and transport said payments to Putco for the portion of March had been captured and would reflect on the bus operators' bank account by Monday, due to transactions from different bank accounts which it said takes about three days.

In a statement, the department said delays in processing subsidised bus operators’ payments for March 2023 were as a result of a widely known procedure and trend.

“The Public Transport Operating Grant (PTOG) only being transferred to the province by the national department of transport in the first week of May each financial year,” the department said. “The department now manages 34 bus subsidy contracts awarded to 13 bus operators, Putco among them,” the department said in a statement. 

The department said it was working with the bus company to find a solution to ensure minimal, if any, service disruption and inconvenience to the passengers.

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