Thousands of Durban pupils were left stranded on Monday morning as a new bus operator was unable start rounds as scheduled due to a legal challenge.

The Mercury newspaper reported that about four operators applied for an interdict against the eThekwini municipality and the provincial department of transport, preventing the transfer of the Remant Alton contract to Transnat.

Transport department spokeswoman Nonkululeko Mbatha confirmed that there was a legal challenge, saying that the department would comment later of Monday after the Pietermaritzburg High Court had heard the matter.

"We will comment on the matter later today and we will also tell you the kind of steps that we will be take."

Reports stated that the operators took the matter to court because they were not happy with the way the contract had been awarded.

Remant Alton ceased operations on June 30 after it experienced serious financial problems. The termination of the bus service left thousands of commuters without public transport.

KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize immediately appointed a task team to address the matter. The team consisted of finance MEC Ina Cronje, education MEC Senzo Mchunu, economic development and tourism MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu and transport MEC Bheki Cele.

The task team aimed to get the new operator as soon as possible to ensure that school pupils were not affected when they returned from holidays. Transnat was appointed as the new operator on July 9.