CAPE TOWN – Nearly 50 learners were reportedly crammed into a minibus taxi earlier this week.
Kevin Jacobs, the City of Cape Town’s Traffic Services spokesperson, said on Wednesday 4 February the vehicle was stopped outside a Mitchell’s Plain primary school, the name of which was not disclosed, and was found to be overloaded, with 49 learners in it.
“The vehicle was impounded and the driver charged with overloading and not having a Professional Driving Permit. Arrangements were made for alternative transport for the learners.”
He added the impoundment was done by the City’s Transport Enforcement Unit (TEU), which will “continue to clamp down on drivers who put lives at risk.”
The clampdown was among several other operations countrywide in response to a tragic accident that claimed the lives of 13 pupils in Gauteng last month.
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Yesterday, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy visited Potchefstroom, in North-West province to check on scholar transport.
She said almost 300 vehicles across the country had been impounded in the department’s law-enforcement interventions.
“Overloading endangers the lives of every person in the vehicle as well as other road users,” Jacobs pointed out.
