Intercape buses operating in the Eastern Cape will now be accompanied by police escorts along high-risk routes and at loading points in hotspot areas.
This comes after Judge John Smith of the Makhanda High Court handed down an order instructing Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, Eastern Cape Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha, and the South African Police Service (SAPS) to develop a plan that increases safety and security for bus drivers and passengers in the province, News24 reports.
The document orders the parties to “develop a revised comprehensive plan on the steps they intend taking to ensure that reasonable and effective measures are put in place to provide for the safety and security of long-distance bus drivers and passengers in the Eastern Cape.”
While the strategy is being prepared, they must also ensure that a “visible law enforcement presence is maintained at every loading point” and along routes where there is a risk of intimidation or violence.
The parties now have until 12 July to provide a rebuttal on why they believe the order should not be enforced. The National and Eastern Cape transport departments as well as the SAPS confirmed that they have all received the order and are perusing it.
160 attacks in 3 years
Since 2020, Intercape has opened over 160 criminal cases, predominantly in the Eastern Cape, due to criminals attacking, shooting, and throwing stones at its buses, so much so that the bus operator instated several “no-go zones” in which it refused to operate.
In September last year, the first court order was issued which gave the transport minister and SAPS 20 days to come up with an action plan that would reduce these violent occurences.
At the time, however, the entities argued that bus escorts would stretch the police’s resources too thin, and ex-transport minister Fikile Mbalula proceeded to file an application for leave to appeal the order which had the effect of suspending the operation thereof.
“Nine months have since passed. Still, the MEC and the minister have not developed an action plan that complies with the requirements of the court order,” said Intercape.
“They were required to produce a ‘comprehensive plan’ with details as to the time periods for the pertinent steps. But they have failed. The plan that was prepared falls woefully short of the mark.”
In April 2023, Intercape proceeded to launch legal actions against police minister Bheki Cele on the basis of a “complete and utter failure” to implement any actionable plans after a series of attacks on the operator’s routes.
This came after a combined 14 attacks between March and April, which left five people injured and a number of buses shot at and stoned.
Keyword: Buses in the Eastern Cape are now getting police escorts