Mbalula warns: Comply or we’ll stop the trains
Transport
Minister Fikile Mbalula has warned commuters that the continued overcrowding of
trains will leave the government with no choice but halt the service.
Mbalula briefed the media at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday.
He gave an update on measures implemented by cabinet to halt the spread of coronavirus.
“I can tell you right now, we have big challenges. We are going to have to take drastic measures in trains. If people don’t comply, we will have to stop the movement of trains. People must not cramp in the trains,” Mbalula warned.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday that, apart from travel bans imposed on high-risk countries, gatherings of more than 100 people would also be prohibited.
Measures have put the spotlight on the country’s public transport system, which ferries millions of South Africans in close proximity to each other every day.
Mbalula said government would try and mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 by sanitizing buses, trains and taxis.