Publications
Partners
Cape Town – Golden Arrow has withdrawn its bus service from the Philippi, Nyanga, and Crossroads areas after several buses were set alight.
“Five drivers experienced minor injuries as the drivers and passengers were forced off the buses,” executive director for the City of Cape Town Safety and Security, Richard Bosman, told News24.
“A total of eight buses have been damaged and Golden Arrow bus services have been withdrawn from the area,” he said. “Nyanga is the most volatile but the situation has stabilised and quietened down.”
Bosman said SAPS and metro police officers have been deployed in the area.
Police spokesperson FC Van Wyk has confirmed that two buses were set alight at Nyanga terminus and four buses at New Eisleben and Landsdowne road.
“The fire brigade is on the scene to extinguish the fires and police members are on the scene to monitor the situation,” Van Wyk told News24.
Stone throwing occurred at Khayelitsha taxi rank in Site C. No arrests have been made yet.
According to Bosman and MEC for safety and security, JP Smith, the incidents may be related to the roll-out of the MyCiti bus service towards Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain.
“Taxi drivers are also unhappy about increased traffic fines and unreasonable targets,” Smith told News24.
Taxi organisations Cata and Codeta have denied any involvement in the incidents.
Smith said roads have been blockaded. 24.com staffer, Carmen Williams, told News24 how traffic had been held up on the N2 ingoing to Cape Town.
"I was in a taxi - we were pulled over to the side of the road on the N2 in front of the airport. Not far from the bridge before Nyanga. Taxi drivers tried to turn around when we got there because they heard about the strike in Nyanga, but were stopped by the police."
"The police and traffic cops asked us to pull over. There were passengers from other taxis who were jumping the barriers and stopping buses so they could go home rather than go to work."
"We waited about 20-25 minutes before the police let us through after which the driver was so scared that he drove extremely fast. When we drove over the Nyanga bridge, there was a bus with a smashed window, broken glass everywhere and stones and other objects laying on the road" - Carmen Williams
Follow Dane on Twitter
