E-bikes boost for tourist safety in Cape Town

The newly established Tourism Law Enforcement officers will make use of electric bicycles to help with patrols and incident response. Henk Kruger African News Agency (ANA)

The newly established Tourism Law Enforcement officers will make use of electric bicycles to help with patrols and incident response. Henk Kruger African News Agency (ANA)

Published Dec 24, 2019

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Cape Town - The provision of seven e-bicycles

to the newly-established Tourism Law Enforcement Unit will help broaden their patrol footprint throughout the hot spots in the city.

So said mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith at the handover of the electric bicycles to the Tourism Law Enforcement unit, deployed in key tourist areas like cable car parking areas, the V&A Waterfront bridge, St George’s Mall and the Bo-Kaap.

The unit, operational since last month, is a joint initiative between the province and the City.

The e-bicycles were procured by the City’s Law Enforcement Department at a cost of R175 000.

Smith said the bicycles would help staff cover greater distances on

patrol and, more importantly, help improve their response time to any incidents.

“It’s also a sign of our commitment to safeguarding tourists whose presence in Cape Town helps boost our economy, which in turn helps create jobs for locals. It’s in everyone’s interests to create memorable experiences for our visitors so they become ambassadors for our city,” said Smith.

Premier Alan Winde said: “The Western Cape Safety Plan is being implemented in partnership with the City of Cape Town and across all of our provincial departments to make our province safer for residents and visitors alike. Interventions like the Tourism Law Enforcement Unit act to protect tourism as a key economic driver and job creator.”

Winde said the plan would increase boots on the ground and implement violence prevention strategies with the ultimate goal of reducing the murder rate in the province.

@Mtuzeli

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