News24 reports that Golden Arrow Bus Services has recorded 93 armed robberies since the beginning of the year and is concerned about the ongoing spate of attacks on its buses.
Western Cape transport officials briefed the provincial government's Standing Committee on Transport and Public Works on Tuesday and on the agenda was commuter safety, specifically on Golden Arrow buses. Provincial transport official Faizel Williams said that of the 93 armed robberies, 25 were in April, while the rest occurred in previous months. No robberies had been reported since the beginning of May. Williams said that Golden Arrow had recorded a total of 224 robberies last year, leaving the bus company with losses of R102 million. "Commuter bus operators and passengers are unsafe, as they have been subjected to increased attacks over the last few years," he lamented. Williams advised that the provincial government had developed five initiatives to address safety concerns and was working to implement them. One such initiative would be increased visible patrols. Neil Arendse from the City of Cape Town's Specialised Law Enforcement Services said that they would deploy 40 new law enforcement officers to patrol at bus stops. According to Golden Arrow reports, the robberies were most likely to take place during peak hours between 15:00 - 21:00. The bus company's CEO Francois Meyer said they would be installing surveillance cameras, but that this would take some time.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Mthethwa at News24
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