“A group of bus drivers employed by Kidrogen, a MyCiTi vehicle operating company (VOC), this morning embarked on an illegal strike,” Mayoral Committee Member: Transport for Cape Brett Herron said in a statement.

“Neither Kidrogen nor Transport for Cape Town – the City of Cape Town’s transport authority – [were] informed of the imminent strike that commenced at approximately 05:00 this morning.”

MyCiTi buses were prevented from leaving the depot in Dunoon to commence with services along the busy trunk routes from Dunoon to Table View and Century City respectively. Routes 260 and 262 – serving commuters from Summer Greens and Century Gate – were also affected, as were other routes branching off from the main routes.

Buses were being added to these routes as and when drivers became available, Herron said.

City, police monitoring situation

“Although the other two vehicle operating companies assisted with additional buses, thousands of commuters were left stranded this morning. It is unacceptable that the strikers prevented their colleagues who are not participating in their illegal strike from leaving the depot to commence with the service.”

The City, in collaboration with the South African Police Service, was monitoring the situation.

Herron said while while the reasons for the strike were a matter between Kidrogen and its employees, the City was extremely concerned about the impact of the strike on commuters.

“The City apologises for the inconvenience caused and requests commuters to please be patient,” he said.

– Commuters can contact the Transport Information Centre on 0800 65 64 63 for the latest information regarding the service, follow @MyCiTibus on Twitter, or visit the facebook page ‘MyCiTi Integrated Rapid Transit System’.

News24