Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has condemned the torching of a MyCiTi bus in Joe Slovo Park in Milnerton on Sunday afternoon.
A nine-metre MyCiTi bus was attacked, allegedly by a group of young people, along Freedom Way in Joe Slovo Park shortly after 2pm. The bus was operating along feeder route 261 at the time and was set alight and destroyed, mayoral committee member for transport and urban development Brett Herron said.
No injuries had been reported and the MyCiTi bus driver escaped unharmed. “The motive for this senseless and shocking attack is unknown. We need all of our residents to join us in condemning the violent attacks on our public transport system. There is absolutely no excuse or justification for this criminal behaviour which undermines and reverses the progress we are making in creating a more inclusive and accessible city,” he said.
Financial resources were limited. Destroying what had already been achieved deprived everyone of improved access to jobs and opportunities, schools and clinics, and other services. In particular, the communities who were dependent on public transport for their mobility suffered the most. Lower-income families spent, on average, up to 43 percent of their monthly income on transport costs and in some parts of Cape Town the costs were as high as 60 percent.
The city was working day and night to bring down the public transport costs so that Cape Town was more equitable and accessible to those in need, he said.
Those who randomly destroyed public transport infrastructure when aggrieved were depriving law-abiding residents of their right to affordable, accessible, and safe public transport. The rail system was already crippled by the ongoing sabotage and violent attacks, and thousands of commuters had shifted to road-based public transport as a result.
It was high time that the South African Police Service apprehend the culprits so that they could be charged and prosecuted. Anarchy, violence, and the destruction of city property was unacceptable and could not be tolerated. The MyCiTi buses operating along route 261 were being diverted along other roads until further notice, Herron said.