Cape Town – MyCiTi buses will be escorted by metro police and other city law enforcement officers to prevent further attacks after two buses were torched this week, says the City of Cape Town.
There is no proof who is responsible for the attacks, but the City has arranged for mediation with striking bus drivers who have downed tools for weeks, insisting they want to be in-sourced to ensure better working conditions and remuneration.
City of Cape Town spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said these services would be deployed by the City's safety and security directorate as the City can't afford to lose any more buses, News24 reported.
On Tuesday morning, a bus was set alight at the Omuramba station in Milnerton. Western Cape traffic chief Kenny Africa said the incident took place at around 6am and the driver managed to escape unharmed.
There were no passengers on the bus. Africa said the police were investigating the cause of the fire, as well as who was behind it.
On Wednesday morning, another MyCiTi bus was torched at the Lindela bus stop in Khayelitsha.
"According to our information, four attackers were involved. Nobody was injured, but operations along the N2 express routes between Khayelitsha and the Civic Centre station in the Cape Town central business district were suspended until further notice," said Tyhalibongo.
A MyCiTi bus was stoned in Khayelitsha on October 23. According to Tyhalibongo, the replacement value of the buses, equipment and repairs amounts to about R10 million.
MyCiTi bus drivers embarked on an unprotected strike on October 14 that has been marked by reports of intimidation and harassment. Several routes were diverted.
The City of Cape Town has obtained an urgent interdict to stop striking drivers from intimidating, harassing or assaulting MyCiTi passengers or staff. Drivers were also interdicted from damaging MyCiTi stations or buses, and gathering less than 100m from MyCiTi stations or buses.
Commuters were advised to contact the City and the police to report any incidents and to visit the MyCiTi social media pages or contact the transport information centre 24/7 on 0800 65 64 63 for updates on bus schedules.