Cape Town - A total of 72 MyCiTi buses have been stoned over the past three months, with most of these attacks reported along the N2 Express routes between the Civic Centre station and Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha.
The City said this had a significant impact on the ability to meet passenger demand on these routes as every bus with damaged windows needed to be withdrawn from the service for repairs that can take up to two days at a time.
The City’s Urban Mobility Directorate keeps a record of attacks on the MyCiTi fleet that operates 46 routes across Cape Town.
“We have seen a staggering increase in attacks on our buses – in particular along the N2 Express routes. Mostly, it is young men and learners that throw stones at passing buses, smashing windscreens and side windows. We cannot fathom why they are vandalising the very service their mothers and fathers and they, themselves, need to get to work and school,” said mayco member for urban mobility, Rob Quintas.
“The impact on commuters from these areas is devastating. We cannot operate buses with smashed windows and must immediately withdraw the bus from service. That means all the trips scheduled for that particular bus are missed, or delayed, for as long as the bus is in for repairs. Commuters then either don’t arrive at work or school on time, and there are long queues at stations and stops because the full fleet is not operational due to vandalism.”
According to the City’s statistics, the 72 buses that were stoned from November 1, 2022 to January 31 this year equated to 144 days that the service could not operate with a full fleet. Thirty buses were stoned in November 2022 alone.
The cost to replace a smashed windscreen or window is between R7 000 and R10 000 each, depending on the size of the window
“I’m pleading with our communities to please report the people responsible to the SAPS or the City. We pay an award of up to R5 000 to those who help us with information that will lead to the arrest and successful conviction of these criminals who sabotage and destroy our assets,” said Quintas.
To report vandalism, sabotage and theft:
· Phone 107 from a landline
· Phone 021 480 7700 from a cellphone
· Phone the City’s call centre on 0860 103 089.
Cape Times