Geordin Hill-Lewis at the launch of the safety team
Cape Town has added a Public Transport Facilities Safety Team to its Transport Enforcement Unit.
The Western Cape Mobility Department is funding the new team as part of its safer public transport initiative.
“The team will soon commence with active duty at public transport facilities where there is an urgent need for additional safety and security interventions,” says Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
“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.”
The City of Cape Town (CoCT) already has dedicated officers from the Transport Enforcement Unit on duty at public transport interchanges in Bellville, the Station Deck in the Cape Town central business district, and Joe Gqabi.
“The Public Transport Safety Team is a roving team,” notes CoCT Safety and Security MMC JP Smith.
“They are now busy with induction and once done, will be deployed where they are needed.
“We know, for example, that there are safety and security issues at public transport facilities in Wynberg, Langa and Mitchells Plain, to name but a few.
“The [team] 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,” explains Smith.
“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.”
Nearly one out of every three Cape Town commuters use a public transport facility where they board a bus or a minibus-taxi to get to work and other destinations, adds CoCT Urban Mobility MMC Rob Quintas.
“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.”