Joburg pays R9.2m monthly for suspended Rea Vaya services while residents left in limbo

Johannesburg MMC for Transport and Patriotic Alliance mayoral candidate Kenny Kunene has called for executive mayor Dada Morero’s resignation due to the Bus Rapid Transit Rea Vaya feeder system having been suspended for nearly a year, costing the City R9.2-million per month. Kunene addressed the media on 28 January 2026 at the Noordgesig Rea Vaya station in Soweto, which is undergoing upgrades in anticipation of the suspended services being resumed.

The 45 feeder buses were introduced in November 2024 to expand access to the Rea Vaya bus system for travellers in Soweto. However, the services were quickly suspended following outrage from the taxi industry, which claimed the buses had not been properly registered. The services were resumed and suspended again in February 2025 following more protest action from the taxi industry and the killing of two feeder bus drivers. They have not resumed.

Read more: Rea Vaya bus operations halted again — taxi industry outrage sparks commuter turmoil

The suspended feeder bus system has caused significant delays throughout the system, leaving users frustrated by the unreliable bus schedules and lack of communication.

“It is the persistent delays for me. And the fact that I don’t get communication on time is also a problem because I need to find alternative transport,” said Rea Vaya commuter Nancy Chauke from Chiawelo in Soweto.

“I need to know if I will have to go to Midway to get a train when the buses are running late. With the train I know it will take me an hour to get to the Johannesburg CBD. The Rea Vaya system has simply become unreliable.”

Some residents have opted out of the Rea Vaya system entirely.

“As of next month [February], I will be buying a train monthly ticket,” Soweto resident Poppy Mashileane told Daily Maverick on Tuesday.

“Most of my friends have dumped Rea Vaya for the morning train, but I wanted to be sure train services were reliable, and they are. I am tired of often running late because of Rea Vaya. When the buses are not late, the ticketing/tap system isn’t functional.”

City ‘paying R9.2m/month for no service’

Kunene publicly distanced himself from the issue on Thursday, 22 January when he released a statement calling the suspension a “unilateral decision” by Morero.

Morero rejected this in a statement on the same day, calling it “misleading” and saying: “Matters of this nature should be addressed through established executive governance processes before any public commentary that could misinform residents or undermine confidence in the City’s leadership.”

Kunene responded by leaking documents to media houses, which Daily Maverick has seen, indicating that the decision to suspend the feeder buses was made during a meeting in February 2025 between the City and the STS Taxi Association, which Morero chaired and Kunene did not attend.

The documents include a legal opinion advising that the City would be liable to pay the service providers PioTrans and Litsamaiso for the feeder buses even if services were suspended, as well as evidence of Kunene bringing the matter to Morero’s attention in March 2025. The matter was then escalated to the acting city manager, first in June and later in September.

Kunene said the City had been paying R1.9-million per week to PioTrans and R400,000 per week to Litsamaiso throughout the suspension period.

“So as we speak, the City has been paying 9.2-million per month without a service being provided to these operators. The City can’t even afford to pay it every week.”

He added that the feeder bus network made up 60% of Rea Vaya’s revenues. He further called for the mayor to resign over the issue. Morero faces a no-confidence motion in council on Thursday, 29 January.

“I’m of the view that if the mayor does not resign, then we must go to council and, together with the opposition and others, embarrass the mayor through a motion of no confidence to remove him,” he said.

When asked for comment, the City of Johannesburg gave Daily Maverick Morero’s 22 January statement and has not responded to requests for further comment.

Suspension adds to PioTrans’ financial woes

This loss of revenue adds further strain to PioTrans, one of the Rea Vaya bus operating companies, which has been marked by persistent cash flow constraints, a diminished operational fleet, and unsustainable operating costs. Compounding these challenges were reports of mounting debt amounting to millions of rand owed to SARS, fuel suppliers and other creditors. All these are set against a backdrop of alleged mismanagement.

In 2023, PioTrans came under mounting pressure from creditors, who threatened to seize its fleet in response to escalating debt, including significant arrears owed to suppliers.

In December 2023, PioTrans was placed under business rescue, a move prompted by acute financial distress rooted in mounting creditor debt and compounded by allegations of mismanagement.

Mohamed Mahier Tayob was appointed as the business rescue practitioner, and told Daily Maverick in March 2025: “These buses are suspended at significant costs to the City, commuters are left without choice and the business rescue plan is unstable.”

Kunene is now calling for the feeder bus service to be resumed and the number of buses to be increased.

“The feeder buses must start to operate. Public safety must escort the feeder buses. The police must escort the feeder buses. They must start to operate so that the business rescue practitioner can also be able to rescue PioTrans as a bus operating company,” he told Daily Maverick. DM