Cape Town – Golden Arrow Bus Services (Gabs) has expressed concern after passengers on a bus en route to Bellville were robbed yesterday.
Gabs spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer said: “Golden Arrow can confirm an incident which occurred on a bus travelling from Town Centre (Mitchells Plain) to Bellville.
"According to witnesses, four men boarded the bus as fare-paying passengers. During the trip they all got out of their seats, brandished weapons and robbed the passengers and driver.”
The bus driver drove straight to the nearest police station along its route, where he and the passengers were interviewed and the bus was processed for forensic evidence.
Despite this, police requested to be given a case number when asked to comment.
“We are extremely concerned that our buses appear to have become a target for criminals. The safety of our passengers and staff has always been our priority and we are deeply saddened that crime has spilled over to our buses.
“Previous undercover operations have yielded some success, and we have company officials and security vehicles moving between points, but the size of our operation, the fact that we operate in an open system and the number of trips per day pose significant challenges,” said Dyke-Beyer.
Gabs said they had been assessing the viability of cameras, panic buttons and security guards on board their buses, but had been advised not to share any specifics in this regard.
“Golden Arrow is a public service contracted to government, but we are not assigned specialised law enforcement like Metrorail and MyCiTi.
“Crime is a societal problem and we believe that the only way to fix the problem is visible policing and a greater success rate in apprehending perpetrators and ensuring that the criminal justice system works as it should,” she said.