Cape Town – A passenger injured when a MyCiTi bus was set alight in Woodstock on Monday night has been discharged from hospital, but the driver, who was seriously injured, is still receiving medical attention.
"The bus driver's condition is stable. He is still in hospital," City mayoral committee member Felicity Purchase said, News24 reported.
The City said the suspect was waiting at the Lawley stop in Roodebloem Road when he boarded the bus around 9.45pm.
Once inside, he sprayed the cabin with petrol and jumped out, according to Purchase. She said a second suspect then ignited the bus.
The passenger managed to escape through one of the windows, while the driver escaped through the door.
In all, five MyCiTi buses have been burnt out in petrol bomb attacks since October 15 and another four buses have been damaged in foiled attempts.
“The losses amount to approximately R22 million. All of these cases are being investigated by the SAPS. We keep monitoring the service and the City’s law enforcement services conduct patrols as far as possible,” Purchase said.
Meanwhile, the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has stepped in to investigate complaints raised by a large group of fired MyCiTi bus drivers, who refused to budge from outside Cape Town's Civic Centre, News24 reported.
They were fired after downing tools in October in an apparent attempt to be in-sourced by the City due to grievances about some of their working conditions. They work for contracted vehicle operating companies (VOC).
SAHRC Western Cape commissioner Chris Nissen said the rights body had received complaints of alleged infringement of the drivers' and staffers' dignity. They claim they are only able to rest and eat in the bathrooms of some bus stations.
They also wanted the public protector to look into the sacked staff members' concerns and labour relations complaints, Nissen said.
Patrick Mabindisa, a spokesperson for the strikers, said they had a meeting on Wednesday with Mayor Dan Plato, Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith, Purchase and a director responsible for the management of the VOC contracts.