City Traffic Services Clamps Down on Public Transport Vehicles in Bellville

City of Cape Town Traffic Services clamped down on unsafe vehicles leaving the Bellville transport interchange on Friday 10 December 2010, during a joint operation with the Provincial Traffic authorities and the South African Police Services.

Traffic Officers from across the city set up seven (7) roadblocks on the perimeter of the interchange. The operation was planned and coordinated in such a way that every possible access and egress route was manned, ensuring that all taxis leaving the exchange were inspected for roadworthiness and driver fitness before departure.

Members of some of the City's specialised units such as the Ghost Squad and Public Transport, Operation Reclaim and Road Haulage Units worked with Traffic Services to patrol the taxi rank, towing away illegally parked vehicles.

A total of twenty-four (24) taxi drivers were arrested and their vehicles impounded: thirteen (13) were charged for operating without a permit and eleven (11) were charged for outstanding warrants of arrest.

Officers also suspended fifty-three (53) taxis, of which twenty-three (23) were found to be operating with defective brakes.

In total six hundred and seventy-eight (678) traffic offences were recorded, including:

• Ninety (90) drivers without professional driving permits
• The execution of eighty-eight (88) warrants of arrest
• Eighty (80) other driving violations
• Eighty (80) fines issued to unlicensed drivers
• Sixty-seven (67) cases of failure to wear safety belts
• Fifty-four (54) unlicensed taxis

Officers charged twenty-six (26) taxi drivers for driving with only a learner's licence, while another three (3) were charged for permitting an unlicensed driver to drive a vehicle.

"As we enter the festive season, the need for safe and efficient public transport vehicles becomes critical. Taxi owners and drivers need to take responsibility for the safety of their vehicles and lives of the passengers they transport every day," said spokesperson for Cape Town Traffic Services, Chief Inspector Merle Lourens.

Issued by:
Communication Department City of Cape Town