The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman J.P. Smith and the Chairperson of the Transport, Roads and Stormwater Portfolio Committee, Councillor Theresa Thompson, introduced the City’s new IRT Bus Unit and Transport Interchange Unit to the media at the Cape Town Station Deck on 20 December 2011.
These two units are specialised sections within the City’s Law Enforcement Services.
The IRT Bus Unit comprises 33 dedicated officers who will focus on the MyCiTi buses and stations. As part of this unit, bicycle officers are patrolling the Paarden Eiland area along the MyCiTi route. Reports of muggings in this area have dropped to zero since the introduction of this bicycle unit.
The Transport Interchange Unit’s 33 dedicated officers will be deployed to various major public transport interchanges in Cape Town, focusing on Joe Gqabi, Bellville and the Cape Town Station Deck. Both units will seek to reduce vandalism and crime by enforcing the City’s By-Laws.
The decision to create these two dedicated units follows the major success of a pilot project at the Joe Gqabi Public Transport Interchange. Ten dedicated Law Enforcement Officers who had been duly trained and empowered in terms of legislation were deployed to patrol the interchange between 1 April and 30 June 2011. This project proved to be extremely successful in reducing incidents of vandalism and ensuring compliance with the City’s By-Laws.
“The City continues to prioritise its enforcement resources towards the areas of highest crime and greatest risks, and as such the public transport interchanges and the IRT system are an essential part of the daily experience of the majority of commuters. We want to ensure that we make these places safer and more dignified for the people who are compelled to use them on a daily basis. The units further emphasise our commitment to being a Safe City and a Caring City,” said Alderman Smith.
The City’s Transport Department manages over 200 public transport interchanges in Cape Town where a single facility is used by more than one mode of public transport, enabling commuters to interchange between the various modes. Currently, security at these interchange facilities is provided by various private security companies and supported on an ad-hoc basis by the City’s Law Enforcement staff, Traffic Services, Metro Police and South African Police Services (SAPS). An amount of R4,9 million has been made available for the rollout of the IRT Bus Unit and the Transport Interchange Unit.
The City is also planning a dedicated public transport impound to accommodate vehicles which have been confiscated for transgressions in terms of the National Land Transport Act 5 of 2009. The City has received R2,9 million from the Provincial Department of Transport and Public Works towards the construction of this dedicated facility.
