Cape Town - Increased train fares is not the only thing commuters have to worry about this year as statistics show there has been a dramatic rise in crime in and around some of the northern suburbs’ major transport interchanges.
These numbers were outlined as part of a joint statement by the minister of Community Safety, minister of Transport and Public Works, and Metrorail’s regional manager on Wednesday.
Comparing 2009/10 crime statistics to 2013/14 figures, they showed there had been a 241 percent increase in robberies reported in Parow.
Meanwhile in Bellville, over the same period, common robberies increased by 180 percent.
“When crime becomes a problem in a community, it will inevitably spill over into train stations and trains,” their statement warned.
Already there have been many recorded cases of robberies on Metrorail’s trains.
In January, robbers armed with stun guns and knives had terrorised commuters for weeks. Some victims were stabbed, left to bleed as the thieves escaped with their wallets and phones.
In an effort to address the threat of rampant crime, the Western Cape government launched a rail and commuter safety pilot project earlier this year. Part of the programme also includes pilot projects at the Bellville and Parow transport interchanges.
“The Western Cape is vulnerable to declining levels of safety for rail commuters, necessitating the need for this pilot safety project that we believe has the potential to be a safety multiplier at train stations across the province,” wrote the role players behind the project in their join statement.
The project will ultimately see an additional 200 “highly visible safety personnel” deployed at transport centres along the so-called Voortrekker Road corridor. For now, 50 Chrysalis graduates are currently deployed as what the government has dubbed “commuter safety ambassadors”.
The graduates had already assisted in confiscating numerous homemade weapons and identified hotspots for illegal trading, theft and littering. They have also recovered more than 150 retail trolleys since being deployed in April.
The statement said that the graduates’ presence had proved to be a deterrent against criminal activity.
Continued success in the northern lines could see the project being rolled out on the central and southern lines where many of the carriage robberies have taken place.
Cape Argus