Cape Town - The taxi industry’s two-day strike ended on Tuesday with no incidents of public violence being reported by late afternoon.
Thousands of commuters were affected, and a number of matric candidates had to write their exams at other schools or exam centres near them.
Law enforcement agencies remained on alert, with patrols conducted at different transport interchange precincts and hot spots following violent scenes on Monday.
Two buses were burnt and the hijacking of another bus was thwarted by law enforcement officers.
MyCiTi staff members were allegedly held hostage and prevented from operating ticket kiosks.
At least four people were arrested, and the police confiscated 13 petrol bombs.
Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka, the 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 were reported this morning.”
The City also confirmed the MyCiTi bus service had operated with no disruptions to any route.
Santaco embarked on the strike against the local government’s decision to discontinue the Blue Dot pilot project at the end of the month, which incentivised safe driving.
Taxi operators were also disgruntled about vehicle impoundments, with the latest in Hout Bay.
Mitchell said that they had communicated timeously that the R215 million initiative would end due to budget constraints, and proposed that the national government rolls the project out countrywide with national funding.
“This strike effectively penalises the one province that piloted a unique programme to provide support to the minibus taxi industry and improve the quality of service.
This pilot programme was developed in consultation with minibus taxi industry leaders who have always been aware that the project was a provincial pilot that could only be continued with the necessary financial support from the national fiscus,” he said.
According to ANC transport and public works spokesperson Lulama Mvimbi, they had raised concerns about the Blue Dot project ending.
He said the initiative was an “election ploy”. “The Blue Dot was and remains the initiative of the Western Cape Government and they must take full responsibility for it, they must not try to shift the blame to the national government.
“The initial pilot was for nine months starting in March 2021, and therefore it should have ended in December last year, but it did not and clearly it continued beyond that.
The real question is why would they stop it abruptly?
“It is not issues with the budget as they state because the provincial government found the funds to get more boots on the ground through Leap (Law Enforcement Advancement Plan )” said Mvimbi.
Cape Times