South African municipalities that receive funding from National Treasury for public transport initiatives have purchased 1,189 buses since 2010, and of these, an impressive 834, or just over 70%, are still ferrying passengers on a daily basis.
This was revealed by Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy in a parliamentary Q&A submitted by the Democratic Alliance’s Chris Hunsinger.
The National Treasury helps fund public bus transportation services for 12 municipalities in South Africa, all of which meet the criteria of the Public Transport Network Grant (PTNG) which is intended to help cities create and improve public transport systems in line with the National Land Transport Act.
Just in the past three financial years, the entity has transferred some R13.58 billion to these municipalities for the procurement, maintenance, and upgrade of buses and their related infrastructure.
As per Minister Creecy, the financial transfers from National Treasury to the municipalities since the 2021/22 financial year to the latest available data were as follows:
| Municipality | Transfers from Treasury to municipality between 2021/22 and 2023/24 |
|---|---|
| Cape Town | R2,811,746,000 |
| Ekurhuleni | R2,014,116,000 |
| eThekwini | R2,138,442,000 |
| George | R1,096,899,000 |
| Johannesburg | R2,697,572,000 |
| Mangaung | R643,570,000 |
| Mbombela | R346,356,000 |
| Msunduzi | R11,900,000 |
| Nelson Mandela Bay | R592,406,000 |
| Polokwane | R509,028,000 |
| Rustenburg | R1,120,973,000 |
| Tshwane | R2,169,462,000 |
| Total | R16,152,470,000 |
If a municipality does not spend its contractually committed budget within a financial year, it can apply for a rollover of funds which may or may not be granted. If a rollover is denied, the unspent monies revert back to the National Revenue Fund.
Generally speaking, most municipalities have done well over these years to spend what they were given, the minister said, and in instances where these purchases were delayed to future years, unspent funds were reallocated or returned to Treasury.
The price of a single bus
The municipalities use the above funds, among other things, for the procurement of buses that carry commuters on a daily basis.
The minister revealed that over the last few years, the average price of a bus ranged between R4 million and R7 million for a new 12m diesel unit. The larger 18m articulated buses then carry a 30-50% premium over their smaller counterparts.
According to Minister Creecy, the number of buses procured by the PTNG-approved municipalities since 2010, and the number still in operation, are as follows:
| Municipality | Buses procured since 2010 | Buses in operation as of October 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Town | 379 | 350 |
| Ekurhuleni | 56 | 56 |
| eThekwini | 124 | 0 |
| George | 133 | 133 |
| Johannesburg | 277 | 184 |
| Mangaung | 10 | 0 |
| Mbombela | 0 | 0 |
| Msunduzi | 0 | 0 |
| Nelson Mandela Bay | 25 | 25 |
| Polokwane | 26 | 26 |
| Rustenburg | 45 | 10 |
| Tshwane | 114 | 40 |
| Total | 1,189 | 834 |
For the eThekwini municipality, Creecy said that 124 buses were purchased for Durban Transport in 2012, however, zero are currently allowed to operate as the city no longer complies with the Integrated Public Transport Network contract model.
In the case of Johannesburg, the metro has seen 93 buses exit circulation over the last 14 years as one of the operators failed to maintain the fleet and was forced to enter business rescue.
Rustenburg is still awaiting the delivery of 35 buses which is why only 10 out of the 45 it purchased are currently roaming the streets, and Tshwane is awaiting the implementation of a 12-year contract before releasing a further 74 buses into service.
Meanwhile, the municipalities of Buffalo City, Mbombela, and Msunduzi were suspended from the PTNG for a period of three years.
Their readmission is subject to meeting the criteria of the scheme, and to date, only Msunduzi has been pre-admitted subject to the city addressing all outstanding issues by the end of the 2024/25 municipal financial year.
However, Buffalo City and Mbombela have not applied for readmission, with the Department of Transport actively engaging these cities as they indicated that they were not ready to submit their applications yet., said Creecy.
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