Pretoria - Autopax, a subsidiary bus company of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), has teamed up with the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) to improve passenger safety.
Autopax, which owns luxury bus line Translux and the economy line City to City buses, transports over 2.6 million passengers per year.
Autopax CEO Tumisang Kgaboesele said their collaboration with the RTMC underscored the value the company placed on passenger safety.
“We value the safety of our passengers. We do not want to be known as an accident prone bus company and we believe this collaboration is going to benefit all those who use our buses.”
Kgaboesele said although their bus drivers leave their depot wearing seatbelts, it was important for road safety practices to be observed throughout the rest of the journey. The partnership with the RTMC, he said, would place extra emphasis on the law enforcement component.
“Through this initiative, we want to inform the public that we operate safe buses, that we are not only profit-driven, [and] we are committed to minimising fatalities on our roads.
“We are hoping that other bus operators will follow in our footsteps in terms of collaborating with the law enforcement agency to promote passenger safety,” he said.
The Autopax CEO said they operate a fleet of 550 buses, which are about three years old. They were acquired for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
“Our buses meet the highest European safety standards and we’ve never had crashes that are linked to the condition of our buses.”
He attributed accidents to human error and the non-use of seatbelts.
RTMC acting CEO Gilberto Martins said through the collaboration, the two entities will share the responsibility of enforcing road safety on the company’s bus fleet.
“Through this collaboration, Autopax is saying, ‘passenger safety is important and that collectively, we can do something to ensure the safety of City to City and Translux passengers on our roads’.
“Their efforts of taking safety measures before their buses leave their depot are a clear indication that they are committed to road safety.
“I want to urge passengers to wear seatbelts too. If they feel uncomfortable due to reckless and dangerous driving by a bus driver, they must alert the bus operator as there are always call centre numbers displayed inside the bus. Or they should call us on 086 1400800,” said Martins.
October is Transport Month and the theme for this year is, ‘Celebrating 20 years delivering efficient, reliable and safe transport services’. - SAnews.gov.za
