Buses to help commuters
2004-06-17 11:26
Johannesburg - A private bus company will ferry commuters left stranded as a result of the taxi violence in Diepsloot on Thursday.
Five buses from the JR Choeu company were escorted into the township by the Johannesburg Metro Police to start ferrying people, after a standoff between two rival taxi associations brought taxi operations in the township to a standstill.
This resulted in hundreds of people being left stranded and most of them having to walk to work.
One man was shot and rushed to hospital in the violence which started just after 06:00 when Diepsloot taxi association members tried to prevent members of the Diepnooit taxi association from operating at the township rank.
The crisis started last week after the Gauteng transport department banned the Diepnooit taxi association from operating in the area, saying it had no permission to do so.
Metro police had closed the R511 road, which passes near Diepsloot and recommended that motorists use an alternative route like the R28.
Meanwhile police kept a large crowd of onlookers at a distance as they cordoned off the area while investigators in plain clothes looked through rubble for evidence and took photos.
- SAPA