PUTCO

PUTCO is the only public passenger company previously listed on the JSE Limited and has grown into the biggest commuter bus operator in the country. It operates 1,600 buses, employs just over 3,300 people and transports more than 230,000 commuters daily. PUTCO vehicles travel more than 90 million kilometres per year.

PUTCO began manufacturing special access buses in 2002. They are designed and operated in consultation with organisations that work with people with disabilities. It has a bad record regarding road safety. Numerous times it has been compelled to check all its vehicles for roadworthiness. PUTCO was involved in various fatal accidents on the Moloto road near Kameeldrift.

It has entered into a Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) deal, which afforded Black Africans meaningful participation in the transport industry. PUTCO is now 42.6% Black African owned, 11% of whom are women.

Putco is no longer know as Public Utility Transport Corporation and is purely Putco (Pty) Ltd

History

During the apartheid era, PUTCO was the main "blacks only" bus transport company and was often seen as a symbol of oppression. As a result, the company was frequently targeted in attacks and boycott actions. The biggest challenges then were the high cost of diesel fuel, maintenance and spares. PUTCO has been part of South African history. The company traded on the JSE Limited for over six decades, survived the penny fare increase of 1954, the 1976 riots and the upheavals of the 1980s.

Carleo Enterprises bought back the company from the Leyland Motors Corporation in 1971. They had initially sold their entire shareholding in 1962. Albino Carleo went on to lead PUTCO as managing director, later serving as chairman and CEO for more than three decades. He retired in September 2004. Franco Pisapia, a nephew of Albino Carleo, took over as managing director.

The company has its own bus body building facility in Brits, outside Pretoria, called the "Dubigeon Body & Coach". It can also overhaul engines and gearboxes.

1945 – 1950

PUTCO was founded by Jack Bird Barregar in 1945 and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with an issued share capital of R810,000. At the end of the decade PUTCO was placed under Judicial Management.

1950 – 1960

Three years later the capital was restructured and the company was taken out of Judicial Management. PUTCO pioneers began giving aptitude tests to potential drivers. A year later it also introduced advertising on the sides of its buses. On 7 January 1957 workers from Johannesburg and Pretoria townships began a boycott of PUTCO, due to the company increasing fares by 25% (one penny at that time) in order to get them out of a continuous financial crisis. This spontaneous act marked the start of a three-month period during which an estimated 70,000 workers joined in the action, which became known as the 1957 Alexandra bus boycott. PUTCO was forced to rescind the increase in the bus fare.

At the end of the decade PUTCO also expanded its service to Durban. Prior to this only municipal bus services were available.

1960 – 1970

Just after the takeover by Leyland Motors, PUTCO began the acquisition of other bus services. These included the Edenvale Bus Service from Carleo Enterprises. Six years later Carleo Enterprises sold all their remaining services to PUTCO. These included Rand Bus Lines and Evaton Passenger Services.

1970 – 1980

In 1971 Carleo Enterprises bought a 51.6% shareholding of "Putco" from Leyland Motors. Carleo Enterprises then formally changed the name from Public Utility Transport Corporation to PUTCO Limited. In June 1972, a strike by about 300 PUTCO drivers won a 33.3% wage increase. It also formed the Transport and Allied Workers Union.

A year later Albino Carleo took over as managing director of PUTCO. At the end of the decade PUTCO acquired another company, African Bus Service from United Transport in an acrimonious corporate battle.

On 5 September 1984 a PUTCO bus was torched with the aid of a petrol bomb after PUTCO employees did not participate in a national anti-apartheid strike. Two of the attackers were granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2001 for their actions on that day, the third person involved was already deceased.

1980 – 1990

Albino and the board of directors started the "PUTCO Foundation" in 1982 to assist in social uplifting of the communities which the company serves. PUTCO's fleet peaked at 3,440 vehicles in mid-decade. The buses travel 156 million kilometres a year and carry 353 million passengers.

Mrs. Marina Maponya became the first black person to be appointed as a director of the company in 1986.

1990 – 2000

The effect of the taxi industry had a disastrous impact on PUTCO; the bus fleet was reduced to 2,500, carrying 120 million passengers a year. Just three years later passenger numbers had dropped to 82 million and the bus fleet was reduced to 2,280. Surprisingly their profits increased to R17,6 million. Despite PUTCO losing customers, it also withdrew from Durban after suffering considerable losses in that region.

PUTCO started its first joint venture operation with a black partner in 1998, Valuader (Pty) Limited, in the Vaal Triangle. This was the first of a number of such joint ventures and the "Lekoa Transport Trust" was established. A year later the "Ipelegeng Transport Trust" was also established. In October 1990 seven people died and 27 were injured when a PUTCO bus was attacked at KwaMashu, north of Durban. This was carried out by members of right wing movements in South Africa.

2000 – 2010

In 2002 Nathi Khena became the first black managing director of the company and the "Asibemunye Transport Trust was established. In 2004 Albino Carleo and a number of the board retired after serving many years. A new board was structured with Franco Pisapia, a nephew of Albino Carleo, becoming the managing director.

Just a year later PUTCO de-listed from the JSE Limited after sixty years to enable it to take on empowerment partners. PUTCO achieved an important milestone in the history of the transport industry by completing a BBBEE scheme, empowering its more than 3,300 employees in 2006.

PUTCO assisted the department of Public Transport Roads and Works with the establishment of a contracting model with Gauteng Women in Transport (GWIT). As of 2005, PUTCO had subcontracted five buses to GWIT, giving it a total of 10 vehicles. This arrangement ensures that women can lease buses and routes from the company.