By Bongani Majola
FOR the next three years, the corporatised entity Johannesburg Metropolitan Bus Services will strive for customer service delivery excellence and the enhancement of shareholder value.
To this end, the City of Johannesburg has allocated R211 million to Metro Bus for the financial year 2003/04.
Corporatised as a City of Johannesburg entity in 2000, Metro Bus provides basic services that include a daily scheduled public transport bus service to commuters according to a published timetable, services for people with disabilities and a provincial Department of Transport contract in Eldorado Park, with a fleet of 19 dedicated buses. Buses and tickets also carry advertising.
Metro Bus plans to increase service delivery in the areas of private hire bus transport, dedicated learner services and pensioner services and will seek to obtain additional provincial contracts.
Over the coming months, Metro Bus will use its allocation to extend bus routes and identify new ones. It will also tender for the transportation coordination of mayoral events and try to reduce dedicated services to persons with disabilities, integrating their needs into the scheduled services.
Metro Bus will seek to ensure the reliability of buses by maintaining a zero number of shift cancellations. The entity will further strive to comply optimally with the published schedule through timeous departures and proper service of breakdowns. Where breakdowns occur, it has targeted 60 minutes as the maximum time for customers waiting for the bus to get back on the road.
Having recently acquired a brand new fleet of 100 double-decker buses, Metro Bus plans to increase brand awareness and loyalty among commuters by having at least 50% of passengers operating on prepaid tickets. The entity also has plans to increase its passengers by 5% a year.
Metro Bus intends training staff to a competency level for its call centre, whose complete technology will have been installed by July next year. By December 2003, 15% of Metro Bus staff should be customer-focused.
The public transport entity has budgeted for an operating income of R216 million and a direct operating expenditure of just over R200 million for 2003/04.
From the expenditure, about R70 million goes to employee-related costs including salaries and wages, while depreciation, social contributions, interest expense from external borrowings, repairs and maintenance together take up about R60 million of the budget allocation. General and other expenses pitch at about R83 million.
