Angry Golden Arrow bus drivers, who have already buried one colleague and on Thursday saw another shot and wounded, have threatened a blockade of Cape Town's N2 highway to protest against the action of taxi bosses and drivers.
Meanwhile, transport MEC Piet Meyer still does not have the power to close taxi ranks in the city. A measure granting him the necessary power is only set for adoption in the legislature next week.
Drivers affiliated to the Transport and General Workers' Union on Thursday held an emergency meeting to discuss the violence in two townships, which saw a driver shot and hospitalised, colleagues robbed and buses stoned and damaged.
Shopstewards tried to calm about 80 drivers who gathered in the mess hall of the Arrowgate bus depot, appealing to union members not to retaliate and warning that their lives were at risk if they did so.
One driver was not convinced. He pointed out that drivers were being attacked anyway.
"We've had enough," said another, demanding that workers blockade the N2 highway to Khayelitsha and Guguletu on Friday morning.
He had the support of several colleagues, although a shopsteward cautioned that such action would make them "sitting ducks" and warned that they could be ambushed by taxi drivers.
Several drivers called for police and troop protection, saying they were taxpaying citizens who should receive the necessary protection.
"We are taxpayers. The taxi owners and drivers don't pay a cent tax. Why is the government going to deploy people in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo)? Why don't they put their troops here to protect us," said one.
However, shopstewards were hardpressed to convince members to opt for a softer approach.
A march to parliament, coupled with a demand that Meyer close taxi ranks and routes in the city to force taxi operators to toe the line, did not find favour with the more militant members who wanted tougher action.
"We have been talking since March 27. How many more of us must die?" asked a driver.
A shopsteward said he understood that legislation for Meyer to close taxi ranks was in place and that drivers should demand enough police and defence force deployment "to protect us from the taxi drivers".
Union members had not yet decided on what course of action to take by 6.30pm on Thursday and there were suggestions that they should return for another meeting on Friday.
At site-C bridge outside Khayelitsha, bus drivers who had operated normally for five days dropping off commuters in the township, were back to dropping residents off on the outskirts on Thursday afternoon.
A damaged bus, its windows smashed, bore silent testimony to the violence that had occurred earlier in the day.
Several residents clustered around a company representative, complaining that they had paid for a weekly ticket and did not have enough money for a taxi to take them to their homes in the township.
It was too far to walk, they said.
Meyer's spokesperson Danny Abrahams said the MEC still did not have the necessary powers to close the ranks.
The emergency regulations had been approved by cabinet on Wednesday night, but the provincial legislature had yet to adopt the legislation.
This was scheduled for next Thursday. On whether troops would be deployed in the townships on Friday to keep the peace, he said: "We are assessing the situation on an hourly basis. We know what is going on. We are ready for anything."
Golden Arrow spokesperson Jeanne Welsh said the incidents happened when taxi drivers and operators returned to the townships following a march on the provincial legislature to present a memorandum to Meyer.
Welsh said drivers were pulled from their vehicles and many of them robbed of their clothing, including their shoes.
Buses were also stoned and damaged.
Captain Rod Beer was unable to confirm all the incidents but said police had fired warning shots to disperse an angry mob after they arrested two men who allegedly threw stones at a Golden Arrow bus in Guguletu.
Golden Arrow general manager Hannes Grebe expressed the company's dismay about the action of Cata and Codeta taxi owners and operators.
"The company believes that the authorities have enough evidence now to apply the conditions of the court interdict that the company obtained on April 15."
The interdict in effect prevents taxi operators using violence or intimidation against the bus drivers. - Sapa