TAXI drivers fear going into parts of Philippi East and Khayelitsha because of escalating attacks and robberies of drivers and commuters.
Commuters are bearing the brunt of the escalating attacks on minibus taxis and e-hailing services as the areas have become no-go zones.
Taxis are forces to drop commuters at the police station in the areas where passengers either walk long distances to get home or take the old sedan taxis know as amaphela or cockroaches which still operate in these areas.
The Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata), whose members operate in Philippi and Nyanga said it took a decision to drop off passengers close to Philippi East police station because of the risks.
"We cannot go beyond the police station as our drivers have come under attack.
“This has been going on for some time but it has become intense and now happens any time of the day.
“Drivers and passengers are seen as targets as they carry money," said spokesperson Andile Seyamo.
He said complaints were laid with the police but a solution would need a collaboration between law enforcement agencies, the taxi industry and residents.
“The police cannot spend all their resources on escorting us in these areas. And these thugs also become strategic.
“When these thugs hear that there are police escorts in one area, they move to another.
“Community members know who the perpetrators are,“ said Seyamo.
He said Cata was never approached by extortionists for protection money.
“These operations are being carried out by faceless people so we don’t know who is behind them,“ Seyamo said.
This week the Nyanga Cluster Community Policing Forum is expected to convene an urgent meeting on Wednesday in a bid to explore possible solutions to the crisis.
Chairperson Martin Makasi said motorists driving on the Wetton-Lansdowne Corridor which included Govan Mbeki, Symphony, Borcherds Quarry and Klipfontein roads are under severe attacks.
Makasi said the policing forums feared that the attacks would severely impact development in the Philippi area as e-hailing services and other service providers were targets.
“We plan to bring together all the community policing forums in the area, law enforcement agencies, community leaders and police station commanders to look at some possible interventions.
“We believe in an integrated approach.
“We want to determine the extent of the problem and come up with recommendations,“ said Makasi and added that the meeting was a first step towards finding a plan to deal with the crisis.
For commuter Nancy Sizani, transport costs from Philippi East to her workplace in Camps Bay have almost doubled to close to R2 000 a month for the past year.
“I spend about R100 a week on taxi rides from my house to the taxi rank to catch another one, at a cost of R22 per single trip to Cape Town CBD because taxi drivers are scared to go into my area as they get robbed.
“Taxi fares go up every year and in addition I use MyCiTi buses to Camps Bay, that's an additional cost.
“I was a victim of a taxi robbery last year and lost money and phone but I don’t blame drivers for not wanting to go into certain areas,” said Sizani.
Another commuter, Nolwandle Madikiza, said she was robbed on Wednesday morning while walking to get a taxi along Govan Mbeki Road in Philippi.
“I had to walk through an open field before I could get a local taxi.
“I met a few other people on the way. Out of the blue, a group of young men pointed guns at us.
“We froze, and they took our wallets, cellphones and even demanded the sneakers one of the guys was wearing.
“It was a traumatic experience.
“We feel helpless and at the mercy of these thugs.
“I have negotiated a (later) starting time at work now because I am scared to leave the house early.
“We cannot endure the situation forever,” said Madikiza.
Khayelitsha resident Khulile Majola also complained about spending almost half of his salary on transport.
“The taxis are scared to come to the area as they get robbed.
“As passengers we are also robbed either inside the taxis or on the way from home.
“This needs urgent attention from law enforcement agencies and the taxi bodies. Public transport has become too expensive and unaffordable,“ he said.
Spokesperson for the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta), Andile Khanyi said the attacks had intensified and spread to most areas in the Cape metro.
“It has now become difficult to identify hotspots.
“These attacks now happen regularly and at different places as if they are coordinated. We need an urgent solution,“ said Khanyi.
Uber South Africa Spokesperson Mpho Sebelebele said the company has had to find ways to minimise the risk on the drivers as a result of criminal attacks.
She said the company had pilot engagement sessions with law enforcement in Cape Town and Joburg to discuss the safety of drivers.
“We want to understand what the barriers are to crime prevention and to establish a collaboration between all the role players,“ she said.
Sebelebele also said the company also introduced a safety feature for drivers on its App which works similar to an emergency panic button.
“When it’s activated, officers from a contracted armed security company are dispatched to the scene as we also have a tracking system which gives us data.
“But when we deem certain areas unsafe especially when there are protest actions, we advise the drivers not to go there,“ added Sebelebele.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile told the standing committee of transport last week that a total of 233 transport related crimes were reported between April last year and March.
Of these cases 122 were still under investigation and only 37 dockets were brought before court, with just two convictions secured and about 42 cases that went undetected.
Patekile also said from April and August, about 26 taxi related attacks were reported to the police.
Last week public transport service providers including Golden Arrow Bus Services (Gabs), Western Cape South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) and long-distance coach, Intercape, told the provincial standing committee on transport that they were under siege from extortionists, thugs and racketeers.
The transport companies said they had lost millions of rands in damages to vehicles and at least one Intercape driver, Bangikhaya Machana was killed in April after he was shot outside the depot in Cape Town.
Yesterday morning a team of detectives within the serious violent crimes unit focussing on transport related violence arrested a 28-year-old suspect in connection with murder following attacks on Intercape busses in Cape Town.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said the arrest was in connection with Machama's murder and another attack in March were shots were fired at an Intercape bus.
“The suspect was arrested in Klapmuts in the Cape Winelands during a tracing operation.
“He faces murder and attempted murders charges that relate to the two incidents and will appear in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s court on Monday.“
She said the police along with other agencies in law enforcement intensified deployments along identified routes and hot spots.