Golden Arrow buses set alight by protesters on N2, Cape Town

At least three Golden Arrow buses were set alight and the N2 temporarily blocked with burning tyres by protesters in Cape Town on Friday.

According to City of Cape Town Traffic Service’s spokesperson Richard Coleman, the N2 outbound was blocked by burning tyres at the R300 due to the protests.

“Tyres are also alight on Symphony Way bridge over the N2,” said Coleman.

A total of three Golden Arrow buses were also torched.

Image: Wayne Dyson, Cape Town law enforcement

Golden Arrow spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer said the buses came under attack on Friday morning in the vicinity of the Symphony Way bridge.

“Two buses were completely gutted and a third was salvageable,” she said.

No injuries were reported, however, Dyke-Beyer said the torching of buses was “completely unacceptable” and that the company condemned the action “in the strongest possible terms”.

The passengers in the buses were transported safely from the scene.

“From a cost perspective, each bus costs approximately R2.4 million and ultimately some of these costs will unfortunately have to be passed on to our passengers,” said Dyke-Beyer.

Coleman said the N2 outbound was closed for a brief period, but had since been reopened.

Police said cases of public violence had been registered for the torched vehicles and arrests were yet to be made.

Image: Wayne Dyson, Cape Town law enforcement

Meanwhile, a suspect was arrested and two taxi operators wounded after two shooting incidents at the Bellville taxi rank on Friday.

According to police spokesperson, Brigadier Novela Potelwa, the two yet-to-be-identified taxi operators were shot at approximately 7.45am.

“Police have since arrested a suspect and seized a firearm,” she said.

Potelwa said detectives were still questioning seven suspects apprehended on Thursday after another shooting at the same taxi hub.

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