SA Roadlink bus impounded

2009-01-05 11:06

Durban - Three luxury coaches, including an SA Roadlink bus, were impounded near Pietermaritzbug by the KwaZulu-Natal Transport department, spokesperson Nonkululeko Mbatha said on Monday.

"SA Roadlink, Eldo Coaches and the City Liner were found operating without permits and were impounded on the spot."

Dozens of passengers from all three buses were subsequently left stranded on the N3 freeway on Sunday.

SA Roadlink spokesperson Sam Fidelis was not immediately available for comment.

The national operator came under the spotlight in December last year after 11 people were killed in an accident with two other vehicles.

Days after the crash, five other SA Roadlink buses were impounded after being found with defects.

The operator has since argued that it had been targeted by authorities ever since.

The province's Transport MEC Bheki later withdrew the company's operating permit pending the outcome of an investigation into the accident.

SA Roadlink management subsequently obtained an interim court order in the Pietermaritzburg High Court preventing Cele from suspending its licence.

Judge Isaac Madondo said there was a possibility that SA Roadlink would suffer irreparable harm and that Cele had not provided any evidence before the court that there would be more accidents.

The two legal teams will be back in court on January 8 to argue the matter.

- SAPA