A feel-good story from the bus and coach industry
A feel-good story from the bus and coach industry
Some SABOA members are adding value – and they’re not just paying lip service to the concept. BAZIL GOVENDER reports on one such member.
After a career as a bus driver starting in 1974 at BTH, Simon Mphahlele founded Valuader Transport in 1996. The company initially entered the public transport sphere through the operation of a subsidised commuter bus contract on behalf of the National Department of Transport.
Valuader, which is based at Roods Gardens in Sebokeng, currently operates a total fleet of 132 buses and employs 230 staff. The company is now led by Kabelo Mphahlele, following his father’s retirement. Mphahlele started his journey in transport as a junior mechanic in 2004, learning the ropes before his transition to head of the company.
Valuader provides a range of bus services to the communities of Orange Farm, Sebokeng, and Evaton via two subsidised contracts, namely:
- 50% partnership in Ipelegeng Transport Trust
- 25% partnership in Lekoa Transport Trust t/a Mqgibelo
Mphahlele has added value to the entity in recent years by cementing the staff’s core focus on growing the business and being proud of the company for which they work. All staff have company-branded uniforms with the shirts proudly emblazoned and personalised with their names. He has also rebranded the company’s motto to “Motswalle Wa Hao” – which means “our friend”.
Despite the setbacks of Covid-19 and the recent increase in operating costs placing pressure on the ongoing operations, Mphahlele and the Valuader team are taking the concept of adding value to the next level.
Throughout 2021, they introduced individual naming to the new fleet. This was then extended by way of a competition for commuters, after which the winning entrants had their names reflected on 25 of the new buses servicing the routes they travel daily.
This unique initiative then had an amazing spinoff within the community and SABOA is able to now share this wonderful story with the industry and FOCUS magazine’s readership.
Public transport’s youngest ambassador
Six-year-old Omolemo Malebo lives with his family in the Vaal. At the age of three, Omolemo developed a passion for buses. From his collection of toys, these were the only vehicles he would play with. This went on until he told his mom that she should only buy him buses as toys.
When he turned five, he told his family that he wanted to be a bus driver when he grows up. But not just for any bus company: only for Ipelegeng.
According to his mom, Refilwe, whenever they were out and about, Omolemo would confidently pronounce the bus fleet numbers and the routes they operated. When Ipelegeng launched the concept of naming the buses after passengers, Omolemo quickly noticed this and learnt all of the names while watching the buses drive past his home.
So it made complete sense that a young boy with a passion for buses and dreaming of a future in the bus and coach industry would get a bus named after him, right? Well, that is exactly what the team at Valuader Ipelegeng did.
As a surprise and a reward for his dedication and passion, Omolemo was taken to the bus depot and shown his very own bus, named after him. Accordingly, he has become South Africa’s youngest ambassador for public transport.
The value-add continues at Ipelegeng….
Nqobile Mahlangu is a young lady breaking barriers for females in a male-dominated industry. She was recruited as an engineering intern by Mphahlele in 2016 to complete her internship in welding and spray-painting, with work functions covering bus bodybuilding.
Upon completion of her internship in 2019, Mahlangu attained her certification and formal qualification. It could have ended there for the energetic young lady, given the high levels of unemployment in South Africa.
Not wanting to lose the investment made in 2019 and wishing to retain her skills, Mphahlele and Valuader Ipelegeng registered a company in Mahlangu’s name and handed it over to her. Thus was born an entity called MN Steel Works, incubated and supported by Mphahlele and his team – but proudly owned by Mahlangu. It contributes to the sustainable implementation of empowerment, transformation, and localisation.
At an intimate function to announce and formally promote MN Steel held at the Roods Garden Depot, the MN Steel workshop was unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, presided over by Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport representative Tidimalo Chakane.
The facility was constructed from components of the decommissioned bus fleet, symbolically underpinning sustainability and change.
The bus chassis was reworked to form the pillars of the workshop, together with the bus roof that covers the workstations. All of the work was done by Mahlangu.
MN Steel is now entering its third year and, with support services from the Valuader back office team, is generating income and returning a positive cash flow. The tools for start-up were donated by Ipelegeng and, with progression, further tools and accessories have been procured by MN Steel.
Mahlangu proudly displayed her initial work, including a range of braai stands and two expertly designed and manufactured trailers, one of which is custom designed to house a generator to deal with ongoing load shedding. There was good demand for the finished products, with some sold at the launch event.
Mahlangu has set herself a challenge: she wants MN Steel to become an independent and important member of the bus and coach industry value chain and supply chain within the next year.
According to Mphahlele, his commitment to entrepreneurial development does not stop here. “My future plans include creating a business hub to promote the local entrepreneurs,” he told me.
Watch this space, as the team at Valuader continues to add value… and not just in name.
- Should you have any good news stories about the bus and coach industry that you wish to highlight, contact SABOA (saboa.co.za).
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