Commuters unhappy with PUTCO and its ticketing system.
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Putco Soweto commuters picket over new ticketing system, buses set alight
Putco services in Soweto were disrupted by a protest at its bus depot on Monday, while in a separate incident buses were set alight at another of its depots.
Chairperson of the Batho Pele Soweto Commuters Forum, Mandla Cebekhulu, told TimesLIVE they are unhappy with the smart card system introduced last month.
“Sometimes it’s offline and we can’t use the buses when it is offline. Other times it is slow when you tag,” he said.
“Commuters' trips sometimes get deducted twice, even thrice in certain cases, for one trip, simply because of a transfer. So the system fails to pick up transfers and picks them up as a new trip. Remember, most commuters don't have buses that take them straight to their destinations, so they have to connect or transfer somewhere.”
Putco services in Soweto were disrupted by a protest at its bus depot on Monday, while in a separate incident buses were set alight at another of its depots.
Chairperson of the Batho Pele Soweto Commuters Forum, Mandla Cebekhulu, told TimesLIVE they are unhappy with the smart card system introduced last month.
“Sometimes it’s offline and we can’t use the buses when it is offline. Other times it is slow when you tag,” he said.
“Commuters' trips sometimes get deducted twice, even thrice in certain cases, for one trip, simply because of a transfer. So the system fails to pick up transfers and picks them up as a new trip. Remember, most commuters don't have buses that take them straight to their destinations, so they have to connect or transfer somewhere.”
