Cape Town - Once again, the Golden Arrow Bus Service has been subjected to attacks as two of the biggest taxi associations caused havoc in Cape Town during a protest against their treatment by the provincial government.
The bus company has lost five buses in the space of one week. The estimated value of one bus is R2.5 million.
On Thursday morning, taxi vehicles blocked major highways across the city while a sea of them clogged up the N2 highway as they made their way to the central business district to hand over a memorandum to the office of Western Cape Premier Alan Winde.
According to Golden Arrow spokesperson, Bronwen Dyke-Beyer, three of the service’s buses were torched and passengers were injured.
“Golden Arrow can confirm that three of our buses were set alight this morning. The motive is unknown but it does appear to be linked to the taxi industry strike which is taking place today,” she said.
“We managed to save two of the buses but the third bus was completely gutted and four passengers were treated for injuries.”
Dyke-Beyer said the bus company condemned the violence in the strongest possible terms and had called on law enforcement officials to step in and curb it.
“This cannot be allowed to continue,” she added.
“Our passengers and employees must be able to travel safely without fear. We call on the authorities to please take the necessary steps and to ensure that there are boots on the ground when situations such as these occur.”
Last week, two Golden Arrow buses were petrol-bombed in taxi violence incidents in Nyanga.
The violence comes after officials impounded a taxi and arrested two people over fraudulent documents.