Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor, Athol Trollip, on Monday officially launched the Integrated Public Transport System.
The mayor also officially opened the IPTS bus depot along Standford Road, releasing the buses on to the road some eight years after they were meant to be operational.
Amid a strong police presence, Trollip took a ride with councillors and members of the public on one of the 24 articulated buses from Cleary Park to City Hall.
He said it is an important day for the city to be launching the much-awaited commuter service, which was conceptualised before the 2010 World Cup and introduced in fits and starts over the past few years.
Trollip, whose DA-led coalition faces a motion of no confidence in two days-time hailed today's launch as a victory for the coalition government.
"A lot of money has been spent on the IPTS. A lot of the money is unaccounted for and that has been of grave concern to us and I want to just say today that for us as the coalition government in this city, to finally get this service on the road is a great source of pride for all of us."
In opening the depot, Trollip said for the first time there is a safe place to keep the buses. He said there's also a safe depot for the taxis that are being taken off the road from the owners who are now going to participate in the IPTS programme.
Meanwhile, Chris King, from the operating company Spectrum Alert said that the time for speeches was now over.
Speaking at a formal launch event in front of City Hall King said the actual work would start now.
He assured operators participating voluntarily in the programme, that the IPTS would be beneficial for them.
King said their business is now being formalised and they now need to operate as such.
"All involved in the industry in the northern Areas, associations involved they are all being taken care of as far as employment is concerned. I know that whatever you do you will not be able to satisfy everybody, but we are working to ensure that everybody is being taken care of unless individuals feel that this programme is not for them," he said.
He said that the taxi operators involved are doing so on a voluntary basis and "it should be noted as such".
However, not long after the official launch police had their hands full with other disgruntled taxi operators in the northern areas who sporadically blockaded sections of Standford Road in protest against the introduction of the bus system.
In earlier public correspondence some said they had not been adequately consulted.
The executive mayor also appealed to members of the community not to vandalise IPTS infrastructure after a bus shelter erected at the Norman Middleton bus stop was recently vandalised.
"We can't have people breaking things down that we are building up as a City. There are always a small group of people who want to break things down, but the majority of us want to build this city up into something unique, something worthy of the name, Nelson Mandela," he said.
Two disabled commuters who boarded the bus with the mayor in their wheelchairs, Sikhosonke Mani and Brian Currin, who boarded the buses in their wheelchairs, praised the Metro for introducing the bus service.
"These buses are going to make our lives easier. We also want to thank Tata Trollip for bringing the buses to us because it will make our life easier because we would be able to go town and come back on our own," said Mani.
"For us disabled it’s a great privilege, now we can get from point to point with no hassles at all," said Currin.
Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral committee member for transport, Rano Kayser, said the IPTS buses will be on the road from Cleary Park to the City from 5 am to 10 pm every day.
The Municipality has dished out thousands of complimentary tickets to residents as it tests the service between now and 9 April.
(Executive Mayor Athol Trollip and MMC Rano Kayser punch their tickets for first IPTS ride)
(Workers repair damaged IPTS bus shelter)
