/ 7 February 2007

Metrobus denies reports of racist bus driver

Metrobus denies that eight high school children were kicked off a bus in Johannesburg by a racist driver, the company’s managing director said on Wednesday.

According to a newspaper report, school children, aged between 14 and 17, said a black bus driver swore at them and kicked them off the bus because they were white.

”We are continuing to investigate, but the preliminary finding is that there is no correlation between what was in the [newspaper] article and what the driver has told us,” said Metrobus managing director Bheki Shongwe.

”I have spoken to the driver and he said it was an absolute lie. They [the school children] asked to get out. He stopped the bus. Some white kids remained until he dropped them at the school.”

The children still on the bus told the driver after the others were off the bus that it was not their stop. Shongwe said the driver assumed because they were late for school already they had decided not to go.

The driver had been asked to go and help on the Parktown high school route after he had finished his normal route.

A strike was taking place at Metrobus, and this issue was ”sad” because drivers were risking their lives with this strike to try be of service to others. The driver would now continue on his normal route.

”He arrived at 7.20am [in Mondeor] and the first thing he met with was comments from white girls who said ‘why is he coming so late’, ‘does he think we have time’.”

He was late and he did not know the route. The girls gave him wrong directions and he ended up driving to Emmarentia.

”Some kids up on the deck were laughing at him. Other kids were trying to keep the peace while others were taunting him.

”He is one of our best drivers … he’s been dealing with kids for the last seven years,” he said.

Gregg Bauer, deputy headmaster at Parktown High School for Girls, said the children had been ”kicked off” the bus on Westcliff Drive — about a kilometre from the school.

The children had told Bauer that the driver had arrived late and would not accept directions to the school from two white boys.

When other children tried to approach the driver, saying they needed to get to school because they had tests, the driver ”lambasted” them.

Bauer said that according to the children, the driver had said: ”This is the new South Africa and blacks rule the country.”

Bauer said he had received a letter from councillor Rehana Moosajee of the mayoral committee for transport.

”She was absolutely shocked by the situation.”

Bauer said Moosajee guaranteed that she had been in contact with Metrobus and that a meeting would be organised with the school to discuss the concerns.

In the letter, Moosajee said racism would not be condoned.

”She also gave her assurance that the matter would be dealt with and a disciplinary hearing would take place.

Shongwe said he would also not condone racism but he regretted that no adult had called him about the matter before it appeared in the newspaper.

”My request to the general public is that is a difficult situation [the strike], we are trying our best to get people to their desired destination.”

He said school children, handicapped people and the elderly were Metrobus’s priority over the strike period.

”I wish someone had had the opportunity to call me so we could investigate … [I am] not sure what they’re trying to solve by going to the newspapers,” Shongwe said. — Sapa