JOHANNESBURG - Subsidised Gauteng scholar transport service providers have rejected the provincial Education Department’s request to resume operations.
During a meeting on Thursday, the department urged service providers to return to driving pupils to school while officials “work on” the matter.
However, service providers say they have not been paid for over three months.
“It is unreasonable to make that request when you don’t have diesel and money for other operational costs,” said Sifiso Cele, spokesperson for the Gauteng Small Bus Operators Council (GASBOC).
READ: Thousands of Gauteng learners stranded as subsidised scholar transport goes on strike
Operators have been on strike since Monday over unpaid invoices, leaving thousands of pupils across the province -- who depend on the subsidised system -- stranded.
“The outcome was not unforeseeable,” said Bongani Ramontja, chairperson of the taxi organisation Soil of Africa.
“It is the direct and predictable result of poor financial planning. Children cannot be used as collateral damage in such situations.”
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Ramontja added that many parents are already under severe economic strain and are being forced into impossible choices while learners’ education is disrupted.
Education spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department is actively engaging with transport providers to resolve outstanding payments.
He also appealed to operators to continue transporting learners while the matter is being addressed.