Grounded buses, idle stations, unpaid bills — inside the collapse of Joburg’s transport system

Johannesburg’s transport network is buckling under a mix of financial distress, poor governance, and failing service delivery, according to oversight reports tabled before the city council last month.

Compiled by the city’s transport committee, these latest annual and third-quarter reviews confirm that the weaknesses flagged by the Auditor-General continue to go unaddressed.

Among the findings:

• The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) pays only 30% of suppliers within the legally required 30 days;
• Metrobus has just 40% of its fleet available;
• Twelve completed Rea Vaya stations have remained idle for up to six years; and
• Councillors have called for investigations into irregular expenditure, procurement failures, prolonged suspensions of officials and repeated breaches of the Municipal Finance Management Act.

JRA failures

The Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA), responsible for maintaining roads, bridges, stormwater infrastructure and traffic signals, is at the heart of these concerns.

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The committee’s quarterly assessment found supplier payment compliance had collapsed to 30%, contributing to contractor suspensions, delayed projects and mounting costs.

The Auditor-General’s review of JRA’s 2024/25 annual report reinforced these findings. Despite issuing another unqualified audit opinion, auditors identified extensive weaknesses in performance reporting, financial management and procurement.

Key service-delivery indicators — including pothole repairs, resurfacing, grading of unsurfaced roads and stormwater improvements — could not be independently verified due to missing evidence.

Financial management was equally damning, with:

• R101.1-million in irregular expenditure from supply chain failures;
• R25.3-million in irregular expenditure not properly disclosed;
• R76.1-million incorrectly classified in financial statements; and
• R1.9-million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

The committee has asked the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) to investigate irregular expenditure, procurement failures and why spending on suspended officials reached R16.7-million, far above the R12-million target.

Rea Vaya’s unfinished promise

The oversight process also exposed continuing failures within Johannesburg’s flagship Bus Rapid Transit system.

Nearly a decade after the Johannesburg Art Gallery BRT station was completed in October 2017, it remains unopened. Twelve additional stations, completed between March 2019 and May 2022, have also stood idle for up to six years.

The Auditor-General found the accounting officer had failed to ensure completed infrastructure was brought into operation, leaving publicly funded assets unused.

While construction continues on the Sandton and Gandhi Square stations and the Selby Depot, 20 buses required for Phase 1C(a) remain unreconfigured due to unpaid suppliers. The operating licence needed before services can commence has not yet been issued.

Operational performance mirrors the delays: Rea Vaya recorded only 12,147 passenger trips against a target of 49,099, while fare revenue reached just R25.3 million — only 11.4% of the annual target.

Metrobus running on empty

Metrobus’s difficulties are increasingly visible to commuters.

Fleet availability has fallen to 40% against a target of 90%, while passenger numbers declined by 36%. The entity recorded a R65.9-million operating deficit and a R30.4-million fare revenue shortfall, prompting councillors to call for an urgent recovery plan.

The Auditor-General questioned the reliability of performance indicators after Metrobus failed to provide adequate evidence for reported passenger trips, complaints resolved within prescribed timeframes and service standards. One performance target was amended without approval, raising concerns over reporting integrity.

Finances were equally troubling:

• R108.5-million in irregular expenditure.
• Repeated failures to comply with the Municipal Finance Management Act by paying suppliers late; and
• Weaknesses in IT controls governing operating systems.

The City’s Group Forensic Investigation Services is probing allegations of procurement irregularities, fraud, supply chain failures, HR issues and financial misconduct.

Metrobus’s own business plan admits the scale of the crisis: 49% of its buses — about 210 vehicles — are beyond their operating lifespan.

Technology company

The Metropolitan Tech Company (MTC), responsible for traffic technology, CCTV and “Smart City” infrastructure, also emerged from oversight facing serious governance and financial concerns.

Auditors questioned the reliability of performance indicators due to inadequate evidence. The entity incurred R122.1-million in irregular expenditure and R175.2-million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure, largely linked to interest charges on unpaid shareholder loans.

Like JRA and Metrobus, MTC was criticised for failing to pay suppliers within 30 days and for weaknesses in financial management and internal controls.

National consequences

Johannesburg forfeited approximately R313-million from its Public Transport Network Grant (PTNG), the national conditional grant meant to support expansion of Rea Vaya.

The National Treasury’s allocation schedule shows Johannesburg continues to receive PTNG funding, but at reduced levels — a consequence of years of delays, incomplete infrastructure, operational shortcomings and weak passenger numbers.

Last month, the MMC for Transport, Kenny Kunene, declared publicly that the Metrobus fleet was effectively grounded, confirming that the majority of vehicles were unfit for service and underscoring the severity of the crisis.

Calls for accountability

The Transport Section 79 Committee has recommended that MPAC investigate irregular expenditure, procurement failures, spending on suspended officials, fruitless and wasteful expenditure and repeated failures to comply with supplier payment legislation.

It has also instructed the accounting officer to explain why the Johannesburg Art Gallery BRT station remains closed almost nine years after completion, why 12 completed stations remain idle, and when outstanding buses, infrastructure and operating licences will finally be delivered.

Closing the debate, DA transport spokesperson Sean Kreusch said residents had grown tired of repeated promises without delivery:

“Roads are collapsing. Bridges are deteriorating. Stormwater systems are failing. Traffic signals are broken. Never fixed. Public transport in Johannesburg is on the brink of collapse. Yet Rea Vaya continues swallowing almost R900-million annually while delivering declining performance, declining reliability and declining public confidence.

“The people of Johannesburg are tired of excuses. They are tired of endless plans without delivery. They are tired of paying more and receiving less.” DM