Cape Town – Over 3 000 commuters have been affected daily by the consequences of the violent protests and vandalism of MyCiTi stations serving Dunoon, near Table View, City of Cape Town mayoral committee member: Transport for Cape Town Brett Herron said on Sunday.
Over the past six weeks, at least three of the MyCiTi stations along Potsdam Road had to be closed for several days, denying MyCiTi commuters from Dunoon access to essential public transport services to get to work to provide for their families, he said.
Furthermore, the nearby Phoenix station on Omuramba Road had been closed since March 15.
“I have extracted commuter statistics for the MyCiTi stations at Usasaza, Dunoon, Killarney, and Phoenix to determine how many of our residents have been affected. Today [Sunday] I can confirm that over 3000 commuters from Dunoon and the surrounding areas have been adversely affected on a daily basis by the thuggish behaviour of a small group of troublemakers who have no regard for the law.”
The 3000 commuters had, in all likelihood, bought Mover Points to travel on the MyCiTi service and did not have additional cash available to spend on other forms of public transport because they relied on the MyCiTi service to reach their destinations. Thus, not only were these residents denied access to public transport, they had also been denied the opportunity to provide for their families, Herron said.
“We are aware of the fact that these thugs intimidated, threatened, and prevented MyCiTi drivers residing in Dunoon from reporting for work. We have anecdotal evidence that other residents from Dunoon suffered the same fate.”
The damage to two MyCiTi stations along Potsdam Road and the Phoenix station in Omuramba Road collectively amounted to at least R2.5-million.
Due to the damage to the stations and the ongoing violence over this six-week period, some of the stations had been closed in the interests of the safety of commuters and personnel.
The Phoenix station was still not operational and had now been out of service for 39 days due to extensive damage. The Dunoon station was closed from March 21 to 25 and had been out of service since the attack on April 17, also due to extensive damage
The Usasaza station was closed from March 21 to 25 and had been out of service since the attack on April 18, also due to extensive damage. The Killarney station was closed from March 21 to 25 due to the ongoing violence in the area, and was out of service whenever the violent protests flared up
“It will take at least six weeks for the stations to be repaired and operational again. In the meantime it is the local community who suffers the most.
“Apart from these attacks, a MyCiTi bus was stoned along Montague Drive in March 2016 and protesters on several occasions prevented our buses from leaving the Stables depot in Dunoon to commence with the MyCiTi service for the morning peak-hour period.
“The closure of stations, intimidation of MyCiTi personnel, and the protests at the Stables depot have caused major delays and disruptions to the very popular and busy T01and T04 trunk services from Dunoon, as well as the Table View feeder services for the past six weeks.
“I am pleading with the law-abiding residents from Dunoon to please work with us and to report those responsible for these deplorable acts to the Transport Information Centre on 0800-65-64-63 or the local police,” Herron said.
Everything possible would be done to carry out repairs as speedily as possible and to keep the MyCiTi stations operational, bearing in mind the safety of commuters and personnel.
“The local police in Table View are investigating two cases and the police in Milnerton another case relating to the vandalism of the MyCiTi infrastructure. We are eager for the South African Police Service to make arrests so that the perpetrators can be brought to book.
“As much as we respect residents’ right to protest peacefully, we cannot allow the disruption of essential services such as the MyCiTi bus service, or for protesters to intimidate and threaten city staff and other residents. The residents from Dunoon and the surrounding suburbs have every right to decent public transport,” he said.
African News Agency (ANA)