After a decade of relying on Nelson Mandela University’s shuttle services, off-campus students who are not funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme are being turned away and told to use public transport instead.
The move has sparked an outcry among students and parents across the city, with many voicing frustration over the inconvenience and cost of paying to get to campus.
Students from areas such as Rowallan Park, who relied previously on the shuttle service in Korsten, and those from KwaNobuhle, who boarded in Kariega, are now left scrambling for alternatives.
A second-year student from Kariega told how they were left stranded on the first day of the 2025 academic year.
The student, who declined to be named, said he took the shuttle outside the train station in Kariega.
However, on February 10, the first day of university, there was no shuttle.
“This is affecting us in a bad way. I spend more than R100 a day on transport, and I’ve got lectures Monday to Friday.
“I’m spending about R2,000 a month, and there are three of us studying at NMU, so my parents are spending R6,000 just to make sure we attend classes.”
Sometimes, he skipped lectures to save money and would ask friends for notes.
“I’ve been emailing the university, and they don’t respond. They don’t care.
“I’m not even on NSFAS and am paying out of my pocket.
“I’ve got friends who receive travel allowances, and that’s about R750, which is not enough.
“We used the shuttle service throughout 2024, and it had its issues, but it’s better than the situation we’ve got because walking to the taxi rank in the mornings is also not safe.”
As an alternative, there is a train service running between Kariega and Gqeberha daily.
However, the first train departs from the Kariega train station at 6.15am during the week and returns at 5.15pm.
There is a trip on Saturdays, departing at 7am from Kariega and leaving Gqeberha at 2.30pm.
A Rowallan Park parent said she had dropped her son off in Korsten every day to catch the shuttle to the south campus, but last week he was turned away.
“So, previously, the shuttles are supposedly for use for all students and they leave from various areas throughout town, they go to the different campuses, and then in the afternoons, they go back as well.
“So my son was using it last year, in the beginning of this year, but last week they were getting turned away by the drivers, saying that the shuttles are only for the use of the residential students.
“If you don’t have an access card for those residences, you can’t get onto the shuttles.
Parents and students have also taken to social media, expressing disappointment.
A second parent from Kariega said there were attempts to organise a shuttle to Gqeberha, but this was quickly stopped by taxi drivers.
“The taxi association said we are taking money from their mouths, and we had to stop,” the parent said.
Meanwhile, parents in Kariega have organised themselves and formed a committee aimed at addressing the shuttle service that has been removed.
Ward 49 councillor, parent and committee member Georgen Miggels said they had been unsuccessfully attempting to meet NMU management.
“Our students and parents are struggling because some budgeted according to how things went in 2024.
“We’ve had to make arrangements, and it is a struggle.
“We are in daily engagements with the SRC [Student Representative Council] president, and we spoke to DA MPL Baxolile Nodada to engage on this issue.
“We’re struggling to get a meeting with NMU management. They don’t want to talk to us.
“If we must pay, we need to know how much.
“Right now, we’re going to great lengths to get them to campus, only on some days to be told lectures have been cancelled when they get there,” Miggels said.
SRC president Lathitha Mbuzwana confirmed that engagements with the university were ongoing.
NMU spokesperson Zandile Ngwendu said the institution’s transport model now covered inter-campus travel for all registered students who were funded from the general levy and students who stayed in accredited off-campus accommodation.
Ngwendu said those students were funded by the transport levy collected from the NSFAS allocation for students at accredited off-campus residences.
“This is in a bid to ensure reliable transportation for students.
“The off-campus arrangement was entered into with the university for NSFAS-accredited off-campus residences, which are paying a levy for each transport user residing in their property as a condition for accreditation.
“There has been no change in policy or transport model, but the university has improved controls and systems to ensure that the shuttle service is used by its intended recipients,” Ngwendu said.
The Herald
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