Sibusisiwe Selahlwa was one of hundreds of scholar transport operators who marched to the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport offices on Friday against new regulations.
Sibusisiwe Selahlwa wakes up at 5am on Mondays to Fridays to start her day on the Siyaya Bus. She has been transporting learners from Ekurhuleni’s Kahlehong township to Palm Ridge Primary School for the past 30 years.
Selahlwa says without support from the government, it took her years to save up enough to buy the vehicle she currently uses. The job has helped raise her children and put them through tertiary education.
Earlier this month, the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport announced new regulations for scholar transport operators.
This follows the deadly accident in which 13 learners were killed when their scholar transport driver crashed in a truck on a narrow road near Vanderbijlpark.
On Friday, Selahlwa and hundreds of scholar transport drivers from Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, West Rand, Sedibeng, and Vaal marched against the new measures. They demanded the department rethink the implementation of stricter regulations. The march was under the banner of the Gauteng Educational Transport Services (GETS).
The group are demanding officials stop impounding their vehicles and retract “unfair” requirements for operating licenses. They also want tendering processes by the education department to be revised to include 22-seater vehicles.
For Selahlwa, the new requirements have meant additional paperwork and costs for things like an operating license, insurance policies, police clearance and having to sign contracts with the school and parents of each child she transports. Failure to do so could see her vehicle impounded.
The department has given operators 60 days to comply with the regulations.
Jackie Le Roux, from the Six to Six skool vervoer organisation in Kempton Park, says he left his construction job years ago to transport children to school. “The job we do is important. The department must work with us to ensure that our job runs smoothly,” said Le Roux.
Pilane Ramarutsi, spokesperson for the Gauteng Education Transport Services, said regulations previously allowed all private scholar transport to operate without licences.
The department has given operators 60 days to comply with the regulations.
In a statement on Saturday after meeting with operators in Soweto, the transport department reiterated that operating licenses are not just an administrative requirement “but are essential to safeguarding learners, ensure accountability, and promote an orderly transport system”.
“Only vehicles compliant with safety and quality standards may be used for scholar transport …. There will be zero tolerance for unroadworthy vehicles carrying learners. If a vehicle is not safe, it will not operate,” said MEC Diale-Tlabela.
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