Mafikizolo Dlamini during the interview.

MANZINI - Commuters over the past weekend had to travel a long distance from the Manzini Bus Rank to the traffic circle for transport.

This comes after buses and kombis vacated the Satellite Bus Rank on Friday and commuters had to find alternative transport.

Yesterday, police officers flooded the streets of Manzini to make sure kombis and buses did not pick up commuters in ungazetted areas.

Some were seen near The George Hotel chasing away public transport vehicles which were parked there waiting for commuters who would walk from the main bus rank.

The Satellite Bus Rank is meant for public vehicles which service the east-bound route. These routes include areas like Big Bend, Mananga, Luve, Simunye and Lavumisa to mention a few.

Commuters were seen carrying their luggage and walking from the main bus rank to the traffic circle yesterday.

The Municipal Council of Manzini’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mathokoza Thwala, said the council was shocked that the public operators had vacated the Satellite Bus Rank from Friday and throughout the entire weekend.

He said the operators had said they would do so on Fridays and Mondays only.

"We had an idea that they would abandon the place on Mondays and Fridays, but it has since come to our attention that the Satellite Bus Rank has been empty since Friday. Commuters are suffering and this is not the way things are done," Thwala said

He also said the council hoped that a forum would be created in which all the concerned parties could dialogue over the issue.

"Commuters have to travel all the way to the Satellite Bus Rank only to find there is no transport. From there they go all the way up to the traffic circle to hitchhike or get alternative transport. This is not fair and we hope to find a solution," Thwala said.

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