Cape Town taxi strike ends
18 September 2017
Cape Town - Taxi drivers suspended their strike around Cape Town on Monday afternoon, but not before two buses were torched and at least 52 people were injured.
The Western Cape MEC for Transport and Public Works, Donald Grant, and representatives of the SA National Taxi Organisation (Santaco), as well as a Taxi Task Team, met on Monday to thrash out a leadership issue and by early afternoon said the strike was called off.
"At the centre of the disagreement is a dispute over internal constitutional processes that must be followed in the election of a new leadership," said Grant in a statement.
The agreement was reached after the taxi drivers agreed to mediation over how their new leadership would be elected.They were urged to return to work immediately and to encourage calm on the streets as the evening commute approaches.
During the strike, a pregnant commuter and another passenger were injured when a MyCiTi bus was stoned in Khayelitsha, said Brett Herron, the city's member of the mayoral committee for transport.
"One of the commuters was hit in the face by a flying rock and the pregnant commuter fell during the violent attack near the Kuyasa stop," said Herron.
Both women were severely traumatised and admitted to hospital for treatment, he said.
MyCiTi buses were stoned in Du Noon, Mfuleni and Khayelitsha and one bus was burnt out under the Symphony Way Bridge on the N2 highway.
Dunoon, Usasaza, Circle East and Killarney bus stations have all been closed until further notice.
Golden Arrow spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer said there were up to 50 injuries to passengers on its buses. One bus was torched and more than 150 windows or windscreens were broken.
The company would try its best to operate a very limited service for the evening rush, she said.
