Cape Town - As the taxi industry's two-day strike in the Western Cape was expected to end on Tuesday, there were no incidents of public violence reported in the morning.
Law enforcement agencies remained on alert, with patrols being conducted at different transport interchange precincts and hotspots following chaotic scenes across Cape Town on Monday.
A Golden Arrow Bus and MyCiTi bus were stoned and torched in Khayelitsha, and at least four people were arrested, and police confiscated 13 petrol bombs.
Private cars were stoned along the N7 at Dunoon on Monday, and some MyCiTi staff members were allegedly held hostage and prevented from operating ticket kiosks.
On Tuesday, Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka, spokesperson for Mobility MEC Daylin Mitchell, said: “Golden Arrow Buses are being escorted by SAPS and law enforcement officers from Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Langa and surrounding high risk areas. No incidents reported this morning.”
Stephan Krygsman, an expert in transport economics and Stellenbosch University Land and Transport Systems associate professor, said the taxi industry was vital to the economy.
“Due to our rail system and services being in a very poor state, people have no other option to use than minibus taxis or private cars. If minibuses is not available, people really have to pay a lot more to get to work, or worse, not go to work.
“Businesses also get affected. We are still in a very fragile situation with our economy. To now be faced with this, together with load shedding cannot be good for an economy trying to gain momentum and recover,” he said.
Cape Times