‘Trust in public transport is at its lowest,’ says Western Cape MEC

Western Cape MEC for Mobility Isaac Sileku has pledged to work with law enforcement agencies to address crime and extortion in the public transport sector, which commuters say is unsafe.

“The trust in our public transport system is at its lowest… People still feel unsafe, as much as they want to use the trains, a bus or a minibus taxi, they feel unsafe and that is the challenge we need to attack within the Western Cape,” said Sileku on Tuesday.

The Western Cape’s Mobility Department, along with the SA Police Service (SAPS) and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) launched their October Mobility Month programme on Tuesday at the Bellville Transport Interchange. The initiative highlights the crucial role that the public transport sector plays in the province.

“We are going to be deploying some of our traffic officers within the province to make sure that there is visibility … commuters must feel safe,” said Sileku.

‘Commuters are scared’

Major General Vincent Beaton of the SAPS said, “We have certain organised criminal groupings in the transport sector which are targeting … commuters and some of the commuters are scared to … open cases because of intimidation. There are a few court cases … [currently] running. We have made quite a few successes,” he said.

The police killed three alleged extortionists in a shootout in Cape Town last week while they were fleeing in a minibus taxi.

Read more: Two Cape Town killer shootouts between cops and extortion suspects expose possible taxi industry links

Sileku engaged with minibus taxi commuters in Bellville on Tuesday. He handed out pamphlets and asked the commuters whether they felt safe in taxis. He was accompanied by police officers and provincial law enforcement officials.

Daily Maverick spoke to a former minibus taxi commuter, Praise Simati, who said the taxis were not safe.

“I was in a taxi where I got robbed. Guys came in with guns [and] took everybody’s things. That’s when I stopped taking the taxis,” said Simati.

Another minibus commuter, student Noluthando Nokhiya, said minibus taxis provided varying levels of service. “Sometimes it is not safe, and not all of the drivers stick to the rules of the road.”

She said using Golden Arrow buses was more cost-effective.

“A bus is reliable and more affordable than taxis. On a taxi, [in] a month I spend R1,000 and on the bus, if you buy a monthly ticket, it is between R500 and R700.”

Read more: Five takeaways — and a shout-out — from a Western Cape government-taxi industry indaba

Commuter Angel Sunza agreed that buses were safer and cheaper. There was a large contingent of police at the Bellville interchange on Tuesday and Sunza said, “It’s my first time seeing the police here and it is good to see them here because there is a lot of stealing and bullying here.”

A minibus taxi driver, who wanted to remain anonymous, praised Sileku for coming to the interchange but said law enforcement officials needed to stop impounding taxis.

“We are … asking them to slow down in impounding our vehicles. Our cars get impounded a lot and another problem is that they don’t want to issue permits for us to operate on the roads. They still have not given me [a permit]. I made [an application] two years ago,” said the driver.

Read more: Cape Town considers stricter by-laws aimed at regulating ‘unhappy’ taxi industry

Train ride

After engaging with bus and taxi commuters, Sileku and Prasa regional manager Raymond Maseko boarded one of Prasa’s new blue trains, which are equipped with advanced features such as automated doors, CCTV cameras and air-conditioning.

Read more: ‘Cheaper, safe and warm’ – trains now run to Khayelitsha, but Central Line is still not fully operational

“We have [noticed] that our commuters are sometimes robbed just before they get into the station from the communities,” said Maseko. “We want to … work with policing forums to ensure that our stations are a place of safety.”

Commuter Zandile Mdanyana said, “The train is safer and cheaper compared to other transports but when we get out of the trains, I wish there was security in the stairs so they can monitor crime.” DM