No time frame given to fix Rea Vaya payment system problems

Bus service stations remain offline leaving commuters frustrated

While Joburg MMC for transport Kenny Kunene says there is no indication when the Rea Vaya smart card payment system will start running again, the delays are hitting commuters hard in the pocket.

After weeks of breakages in the card payment systems at various stations around the city, yesterday morning Rea Vaya announced that all its paying systems have gone offline without indicating when they will be restored. This means bus commuters with depleted cards would not be able to load cash into their cards and or even check their balances.

Yesterday, Kunene said the bus company did not have enough funds to upgrade the system which he said was old. He said the city needed to pump funds into the Rea Vaya system, but provincial support will also be necessary

Speaking on the future of Rea Vaya in Meadowlands, Soweto, Kunene said that substantial upgrades are needed for the Rea Vaya bus service to operate smoothly. 

“That is why we are redoing the system. We’ve done it at Metrobus, and it is now using automated collection – that is exactly what Gautrain is using,” Kunene said.

He said they are seeking provincial subsidies for infrastructure improvements and upgrading payment systems to accept bank cards at stations. 

“We are going to seek a subsidy from the province so that we can improve Pio Trans infrastructure. However, the stations are the city's responsibility, so we need to connect the new system we've implemented with Metro Bus.

“This way, if someone has a card and the station is offline, they can still pay with their bank card. But we don’t want stations that are always offline, so the infrastructure we’re implementing will have backup power to ensure sustainability. It’s a journey we’re on,” he said. 

The Rea Vaya bus service, a critical mode of transportation for most of Joburg’s commuters, is facing backlash due to ongoing issues with its smart card reloading systems.

Parktown station has been offline for nearly a month. 

Kunene said Rea Vaya’s service issues are further complicated by delays in payments to Pio Trans, the private company responsible for Rea Vaya’s operations. 

“The challenge is that Pio Trans is a private company, so the city has a limited role, but one of the biggest issues is the city's delay in paying Pio Trans. Even when Pio Trans wants to fix certain things, they lack the funds because of these delayed payments, which is why we sometimes see strikes.

“It’s not that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is failing, but rather that the city is causing the problems. Pio Trans collects the revenue, but the money doesn’t reach them consistently. Payments are supposed to be made weekly, but sometimes Pio Trans goes unpaid for up to six weeks, which prevents them from addressing infrastructure issues,” he said.

Frequent outages at Rea Vaya stations have left commuters frustrated.

Kutlwano Maredi, a Rea Vaya user, said: “It has been several weeks now; I have been trying to load my account and failing because the machine is always offline. I’m scared that one morning it will decline because I don’t even know how much is left,” he said, voicing concerns about potential fines due to the system’s inconsistency. 

Another commuter, Sthembiso Mngadi, from Parktown said he has to pay R15 extra for a single trip on a taxi to Soweto.,

I am no longer impressed with Rea Vaya’s services because it’s been months now. Now we are forced to take taxis.Sthembiso Mngadi, commuter

“I am no longer impressed with Rea Vaya’s services because it’s been months now. Now we are forced to take taxis. I work in Thokoza, and from here [Parktown] to there is R18 with the bus, but now with a taxi, I spend R10 to town and R23 from town to Thokoza.” 

Issues with station access and functionality were echoed across users.

A security guard in Parktown reported that the station’s machine has been offline for four months, while another commuter, Hlengiwe Hlatshwayo, said the station at Thokoza Park was offline.

Sowetan has driven along Rea Vaya's routes and noted that multiple stations are either closed or are offline like the Noordgesig and Parktown stations. 

Kunene said he could not give a time frame as to when the issue would be fixed. 

“I am noting this problem and I will talk to the team and let’s see what interventions we can do. I am aware that there are stations that are frequently offline and they fix them but old system challenges are the problem, that’s why we need to come up with a new system. Let me not give a time frame at this point so that I can meet with officials,” he said. –

Additional reporting by Herman Moloi.