South Africans frustrated by corruption, wasteful spending and government failures are now questioning how billions of rand were poured into bus rapid transit (BRT) systems that many commuters barely use.
The Department of Transport has reportedly admitted that South Africa’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) programme has failed to deliver the expected results after roughly R80 billion was spent over two decades.
According to figures discussed during an interview on 702, only about 152,000 passengers use BRT systems nationwide, compared to the nearly eight million commuters who rely on taxis daily.
The revelations have intensified criticism over government spending, poor planning and failed infrastructure projects.
Empty stations and billions spent
The issue was sparked by concerns over largely empty Rea Vaya bus stations in Johannesburg despite the massive investment in infrastructure.
Rea Vaya’s director of service promotions, Benny Makgoga, defended the project, saying the system was designed to become part of a broader integrated public transport network.
Makgoga said Rea Vaya currently operates 63 stations with more than 200 buses across various routes.
However, he admitted daily passenger numbers are sitting at between 15,000 and 20,000 commuters.
He also confirmed that about R16.8 billion had already been spent on Rea Vaya infrastructure alone.
Monthly operating costs are estimated at between R30 million and R40 million.
‘We are not getting value for money’
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) said taxpayers were not getting proper value for the billions spent.
OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage said many of the stations appeared empty and criticised the slow rollout of integrated transport systems.
He argued that commuters still cannot seamlessly move between buses, taxis, Gautrain and PRASA rail services using a single payment system.
“Twenty years now this has been going on for, and we are not getting our bang for our buck,” Duvenage said.
He described some of the projects as “white elephants”.
Corruption and incompetence concerns grow
The discussion also tapped into wider public anger over corruption, failed projects and government inefficiency.
Critics argued that the government was warned years ago that parts of the BRT programme might not work as intended.
Duvenage said authorities continued spending despite major warning signs and poor commuter uptake.
“We just see an absolute waste of taxpayers’ money because there’s not enough research going into this,” he said.
He added that the government needed to either fix the systems urgently or stop pouring money into failing projects.
Taxi industry still dominates
Despite years of investment into BRT infrastructure, taxis remain the dominant form of public transport in South Africa.
Transport officials acknowledged that minibus taxis carry the overwhelming majority of commuters nationwide.
The debate has renewed questions over whether the government should continue funding struggling BRT systems while basic transport integration problems remain unresolved.