UPDATE:
As the taxi strike and protest violence continue across various regions of Cape Town, public transport services are becoming overwhelmed and bombarded as people are desperate to get home, scrambling to find alternative means.
Footage from GroundUp‘s Matthew Hirsch shows people climbing over each other in order to embark onto buses to try and leave Cape Town bus station and CBD area.
Desperate scene at Cape Town bus station.
Video by Matthew Hirsch #TaxiStrike pic.twitter.com/DucIG7vxeM
— GroundUp (@GroundUp_News) August 3, 2023
#Taxistrike At Golden Arrow bus terminus in Cape town. Desperate passengers trying to board the bus to Nkanini. Traffic on N2 is a nightmare as you can spot scores of people walking along N2 heading towards Langa. #Athlonenews #taxistrike #santaco #codeta #cata #jpsmitt #capetown pic.twitter.com/2pILbxThDz
— Bheki Radebe (@mabhiza_zn) August 3, 2023
Cape Town CBD now.
Photo: Matthew Hirsch pic.twitter.com/FohcrnrB1r— GroundUp (@GroundUp_News) August 3, 2023
Some commuters have taken to public streets and highways on foot in an attempt to get home, as public transport alternatives are overwhelmed and overloaded.
This is on the N2 at Vanguard Drive. Some of the people pictured here said they had walked from town.
Photo: Qaqamba Falithenjwa#TaxiStrike pic.twitter.com/AAjgKlhHIF— GroundUp (@GroundUp_News) August 3, 2023
I’ve never seen big groups of people walking on Nelson Mandela Boulevard towards Hospital Bend. I can’t imagine their desperation to endanger their lives like that! #TaxiStrike #CapeTown https://t.co/wZTdd7YCe7
— tamigotchi 🤖 (@TamiMagnin) August 3, 2023
Meanwhile, traffic continues to back up across the province.
#TaxiStrike in Cape Town and across the province.
Video: supplied. pic.twitter.com/h52V6iTnGo
— Athi Mtongana (@AthiMtongana) August 3, 2023
Picture: Matthew Hirsch / @GroundUp_News / Twitter
UPDATE:
Many commuters across various parts of the metropole have been left stranded or scrambling for alternative transport arrangements as the taxi strike commenced this afternoon.
TrafficSA reported full road closure between the M5 Highway and Robert Sobukwe Road, as well as a gridlocking of congestion in the CBD after a taxi go-slow caused traffic jams.
Cape Town – #TaxiStrike #TaxiViolence
N2 Highway: FULL CLOSURE between the M5 Highway and Robert Sobukwe Road pic.twitter.com/iJNYi6eWiV
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) August 3, 2023
Cape Town – CBD Congestion: GRIDLOCKED #NetballWorldCup2023 #TaxiStrike + 1st Thursday pic.twitter.com/k4fub68bTY
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) August 3, 2023
Traffic officer spokesperson Kevin Jacobs said ‘traffic officers are attending to incidents of public violence on the city’s freeways and major routes’.
Footage of several traffic incidents amid the taxi industry strike is circulating across social media platforms.
#TaxiStrike
Jan Smuts Drive (Langa/Bonteheuwel) pic.twitter.com/IzBJEDO1fx— Luphiwe_Gigaba (@LuphiweG) August 3, 2023
Several incidents of law enforcement vehicles being stoned have also been reported on Twitter.
So it begins
A law enforcement vehicle was stoned in Khayelitsha. A Golden Arrow bus set alight in Nyanga
Golden arrow has announced that they will no longer be operating from the terminus in Nyanga but from the police station #TaxiStrike pic.twitter.com/HsgXTffp12
— Veve (@LudidiVelani) August 3, 2023
Things are getting out of control as trucks are burned, taxi drivers throwing stones at police van in Cape Town.
👀
#TaxiStrike SANTACO SAPS Bheki Cele Ramaphosa pic.twitter.com/02haBXjrPj
— .🇿🇦🇮🇱🇿🇦🇮🇱🇿🇦🇮🇱🇿🇦🇮🇱🇿🇦🇮🇱 (@NkosinatiMagwa) August 3, 2023
Two Golden Arrow buses have been set alight at the Nyanga bus terminus on the Cape Flats.
Taxi drivers will bully others on the road, make up their own rules, and then when they don’t get their way, they wanna sulk about it. The people in that industry are some of the most entitled on the planet. It’s their way or the highway. #TaxiStrike pic.twitter.com/SakMzZRtYI
— SUPERINFORMATIVE on TikTok (@i_likebrandon) August 3, 2023
#TaxiStrike pic.twitter.com/I6lEpLRQRW
— Black Napoleon (@BlackMapuma) August 3, 2023
Details around the incident are unclear and the motive is unconfirmed.
Golden Arrow spokesperson, Bronwen Dyke-Byer, says they have moved operations to the nearby police station for security reasons.
Increased security at the Nyanga terminus has been activated.
Additionally, Golden Arrow has indicated that all Epping services will be severely delayed.
MyCiTi bus services have also been suspended in Khayelitsha due to safety concerns, reports EWN.
Metrorail’s Zino Mihi said the rail operator is also putting contingency measures in place.
A number of
Picture: @sibongilemchasa / Twitter
UPDATE:
Traffic on the N2 outbound, Nelson Mandela Boulevard has come to a grinding halt as taxis have taken to block the road. Users on social media are being cautioned to drive safely and avoid the area where possible.
Cape Town traffic officials are currently attending to incidents of public violence on the City’s freeways and major routes.
The following roads are affected:
- Jakes Gerwel Drive is closed at Bluegum in a northerly direction;
- The N2 outbound is closed at the M5;
- The N2 incoming is closed at Jakes Gerwel Drive.
Motorists are advised to seek alternative routes and proceed with caution.
Watch:
Video: Social media
Picture: Screenshot
After gathering for a community meeting to announce how the leadership of SANTACO intends to resolve the stand-off with the City of Cape Town, all regions of Santaco in the Western Cape have resolved to recall all taxis from operating as of today.
Also read: Opposition parties condemn City’s heavy-handedness with taxi operators
The principal representative body of the Taxi Industry in South Africa made the announcement earlier today following violent clashes between taxi drivers and law enforcement over the impounding of vehicles in Cape Town’s CBD.
The leadership of SANTACO at national level and all levels of the Western Cape province as supported by civil society and other formations are gathered for a community meeting during which the leadership will announce how they intend to resolve the stand off with City of CT. pic.twitter.com/b8HAgilvb2
— SANTACO (@SA_Taxis) August 3, 2023
As per ENCA, police were on high alert and monitoring Cape Town’s CBD after taxi operators blocked the street during the evening rush hour on Tuesday. The situation quickly escalated when police and metro police used stun grenades to disperse the crowd and smashed the window of a taxi to extract protesters.
All regions of SANTACO in the Western Cape have resolved to recall all taxis from operating as of this moment. #EnoughIsEnough
— SANTACO (@SA_Taxis) August 3, 2023
According to TimesLIVE, traffic officers shot a suspect in the leg yesterday after allegedly being attacked by a taxi driver and passenger when they were stopped for a traffic violation.
Santaco provincial chair Mandla Hermanus says traffic officers are impounding taxis ‘even in the case of the offence being committed by a driver. For instance, vehicles get impounded if a driver or commuter is found not wearing a safety belt.’
Provincial mobility minister Ricardo Mackenzie will hold a joint briefing with police oversight and community MEC Reagen Allen, city officials and police management to respond to the impasse.
‘As a precautionary measure, MyCiTi commuters and those relying on the minibus-taxi industry for commuting are advised to anticipate delays in coming days, and to plan accordingly.’
Also read:
The City calls for peaceful resolution amid a potential minibus-taxi strike
Picture: Screenshot / JP Smith / Facebook