Cape Town - A MyCiti bus driver was held at gunpoint and his colleague robbed of his valuables by a gang of four armed men in Khayelitsha at the weekend.
The bus had stopped at an intersection on Mew Way road near TR section in Site B at about 7.45pm on Saturday when the unknown suspects stormed aboard, demanding that the driver switch off the ignition. Two of them were armed with shotguns and others carried knives.
Police spokesman FC van Wyk said no shots were fired and the robbers disappeared between the shacks with the man’s laptop and wallet. He said no injuries were reported
“An armed robbery case was opened for investigation, the suspects are still at large,” said Van Wyk.
Transport for Cape Town Mayco member Brett Herron remained tight-lipped about the armed robbery and said the matter was under police investigation.
“Due to the sensitivity of the case and the possibility of a breakthrough in the investigation, we cannot provide more information at this stage. Neither can we provide you with information about our pro-active safety measures as this will be undermining our operational efforts to ensure the safety of the MyCiTi passengers and personnel,” he said.
MyCiTi buses were on some occasions escorted by law enforcement officers when entering and leaving Khayelitsha when the bus service was rolled out two years ago.
Herron said it was the police’s responsibility to prevent crime and the City assisted as far as it could, given its limited human and financial resources.
Commuter watchdog the Public Transport Voice (PTV) said it was alarmed by robberies on buses, including Golden Arrow buses.
PTV spokesman Dalton Ndongeni said the City should consider deploying law enforcement officers to the hotspots before things get out of control.
“This is something that has been happening for a while now. The operators are more concerned about profit and their image than the safety of commuters.
“There was an incident where all passengers on a Golden Arrow bus were robbed except the driver,” he said.
Bronwen Dyke-Beyer of the Golden Arrow bus service did not respond to enquiries before publication.
Meanwhile, four suspects between 22 and 32 years were arrested in Nyanga after a high-speed chase on Sunday night.
The detainees were in possession of a hijacked vehicle, dangerous weapons and suspected stolen property.
Cape Times