NORTH WEST — The Department of Community Safety and Transport has issued a stern warning to North West scholar transport operators who failed to present their vehicles for a mandatory inspection, threatening contract termination and removal from the roads for non-compliance.
The provincial department confirmed that while more than 900 buses are contracted to ferry learners to school across the region, only 431 were made available for the second annual vehicle inspection last week. This mandatory screening was initiated in direct response to a January report by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which highlighted the dire state of scholar transport in the area.
The SAHRC report warned that learners’ lives were being put at risk, identifying numerous critical safety concerns. These included unroadworthy buses, chronic overloading, broken windows, and vehicles operating without valid license discs or operating permits.
A department spokesperson emphasized that adherence to these inspections is a fundamental part of the service level agreement, designed to ensure that buses providing services to the public are roadworthy and that service delivery remains seamless. The spokesperson expressed deep disappointment over the low compliance rate, noting that the time for excuses has passed.
“We will take the necessary interventions, and whatever the contract allows us to do, we will fully do,” the spokesperson stated, adding that there is no longer room for further violations. While contract termination remains a last resort, the department has been explicit in written correspondence about the consequences that will follow any failure to adhere to the regulations.
Despite the strict warnings, some operators cite financial barriers to compliance. Lerato Mahlakoleng, a local scholar transport operator who successfully passed the compliance testing for her two buses last Thursday, highlighted that delayed payments are preventing others from properly servicing their vehicles.
Mahlakoleng explained that many operators work out of town, sometimes up to 70 kilometers away. Due to prolonged nonpayment, these operators lack the necessary funds to purchase diesel for the round trip to the testing venues, which significantly contributed to the low turnout throughout the inspection week.
In response to the widespread non-compliance, the department announced that traffic officers will be actively deployed on the roads across the province to identify and apprehend operators running unroadworthy or unauthorized scholar transport vehicles.
