The Democratic Alliance has said it welcomes litigation against Transport Minister Fikili Mbalula for what has been termed his department’s failure to take action against the ongoing threat of violent intimidation in South Africa’s transport sector.
This has emerged after it was reported that national bus service, Intercape, will be taking legal action against Mbalula and the Department of Transport (DoT).
News of the litigation follows on the back of persistent attacks on bus companies for competing with long-distance taxi operators on certain routes.
Apparently, certain sections of the N1 in the Western Cape and the N2 linking the Cape metropole with the Eastern Cape, have become hot spots for interference with buses travelling between destinations.
On several occasions, buses have been shot at, sometimes sprayed with automatic gunfire, resulting in injuries and damage to property.
So far, 61 cases of bus attacks, mainly in the Western and Eastern Cape, have been reported this year.
At the heart of the violence is the refusal by certain bus companies to bow to the taxi industry’s insistence that they hike prices to “level the playing field”.
In a tough economic environment, long-distance commuters prefer the lower prices offered by bus services, much to the chagrin of unscrupulous taxi bosses.
Word on the street is that some bus companies have been warned that they can expect the worst if they don’t give in to the taxi industry’s demands.
It has also been said that, in severe cases, taxi bosses are using mafia-style racketeering, threatening bus companies with violence unless they pay for protection.
Because Intercape has taken a hard line with the threat from the taxi industry, refusing to acquiesce to any criminal demands, they have borne the brunt of in-transit terror.
In a desperate plea for assistance against the growing threat they face from the taxi industry, Intercape head Johann Ferreira has apparently written to the highest office in the land for help.
It is not sure whether his plea to the president has had any effect.
In April this year, Freight News reported on the ‘impounding’ of a bus at about 3am while it was making its way to Cape Town in the vicinity of George (Read this for context: https://tinyurl.com/3vz79unv).
Much behind-the-scenes wrangling delayed the journey of commuters well beyond they’re expected arrival time in Cape Town.
Private-sector sources at the time said it was just another case of a bus journey yet again being interfered with by crooked cops who are in the pocket of criminal exploitation.
Apparently Greyhound had neglected to comply with the necessary permits for the bus.
In other instances, more extreme measures are deployed to force buses to a standstill, such as placing rocks on the road.
Deputy Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili has warned that attacks on buses are getting out of hand and that the SA Police Service (SAPS) can’t cope with the threat.
