Safety team to be deployed at public transport facilities

24 October 2023

The City of Cape Town will be deploying additional law enforcement officers at public transport facilities across Cape Town to curb criminal activities, enforce compliance with by-laws and address informal trading matters. This is another great safety partnership between the City and the Western Cape Government. In this case, the Western Cape Mobility Department is funding this team – named the Public Transport Facilities Safety Team – as part of its safer public transport initiative.

'This morning, I attended the launch of the new Public Transport Facilities Safety Team which forms part of the City's Transport Enforcement Unit, at the Mitchells Plain Town Centre. The team will soon commence with active duty at public transport facilities where there is an urgent need for additional safety and security interventions. The deployment will be based on hotspot identification by our data analysts from the City's Public Transport Department. This will ensure that resources are deployed where most needed, based on sound evidence. I trust this joint initiative with the Western Cape Mobility Department will contribute to our efforts to make transport facilities safer for our commuters, transport operators, and all who use these spaces,' said the City's Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis.

The City already has dedicated officers from the Transport Enforcement Unit at the public transport interchanges at Bellville, the Station Deck in the Cape Town central business district, and Joe Gqabi.

'The Public Transport Safety Team is a roving team. They are now busy with induction and once done, will be deployed where they are needed. We know, for example, there are safety and security issues at public transport facilities in Wynberg, Langa, and Mitchells Plain, to name but a few. They will be patrolling these facilities on foot, and doing inspections to prevent drug peddling, to ensure organised informal trading, and to address by-law contraventions. They will be able to make arrests, and issue fines. The team will work closely with their colleagues from the Transport Enforcement Unit, Traffic Services, and Law Enforcement,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

'The City's recently approved Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan (CITP) indicates that up to 22% of commuters use minibus-taxi services, and an additional 9% use bus services such as GABS, MyCiTi and Sibanye. Thus, nearly one out of every three commuters use a public transport facility where they board a bus or a minibus-taxi to get to work and other destinations. We need to do as much as we can to ensure that commuters feel and are safe. Commuters' perception of safety is closely linked to seeing officers on the ground, patrolling and doing crime prevention, and doing what is needed to ensure an orderly and safe facility. I'm sure the presence of these officers will make a huge difference, and I ask commuters and operators to please support these officers, and to work with them, so that we can keep Capetonians moving safely,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.

'Getting people to and from work safely is a top priority for the Western Cape Government. I am pleased that this partnership is resulting in concrete action to make public transport facilities safer. The presence of this safety team will not only improve mobility, but will also improve the environment for economic activity in these spaces,' said Western Cape Minister of Mobility Ricardo Mackenzie.