CAPE TOWN - OVER 200 Golden Arrow Bus Service (Gabs) employees received their Covid-19 jabs at the company’s pop-up vaccination clinic on Monday.
The employees, who have not had the chance to be vaccinated, gathered at the Gabs Arrowgate bus depot in Montana.
A ticket seller who asked not to be named said she was happy and relieved to have taken the jab, because fear had previously prevented her from being vaccinated.
“Taking the vaccination means that I am safe and those that are close to me are also safe,” she said.
Another employee who is an engineer said working hours got in the way previously.
“This vaccination means a lot to me because I was the only one in my family that has not taken the jab yet and now my family can feel safer around me. ”
Gabs spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer confirmed that many employees struggled to get vaccinated due to working hours.
“Others weren’t sure about whether they wanted to get vaccinated or they felt that it just wasn’t convenient.
“Operating hours for Golden Arrow can be from the very, very early hours of the morning to late at night depending on shifts. Some people like the ticket sellers also work off-site.”
Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell said they were working hard to bring vaccines closer to communities in order to save lives and jobs.
“It is very important that we target public transport operators as they work around the clock taking commuters to economic opportunities as we are rebuilding our economy.
“Public transport operators are working in areas of high transit as they transport people to and from different destinations and their staff often find it difficult to visit vaccine sites to get jabbed. It is encouraging to see in the transport sector so much interest in being vaccinated,” Mitchell said.
Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said the victory over Covid-19 lies in collaborations.
“I thank Gabs for approaching the department of health to ensure that their workers are vaccinated. This speaks to the power of partnerships.”
Gabs chief executive officer Francois Meyer said the partnership will add an essential dimension to the company’s existing vaccination drive, which makes use of buses to transport employees from all across the company to vaccine sites during working hours.
Cape Times