Protest halts Atlantis MyCiTi

SHOPS were looted and property vandalised during a violent protest over housing in Atlantis yesterday.

This lead to the city council suspending its MyCiti bus service until further notice.

Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said the Atlantis shopping mall was closed by management for safety reasons and the old shopping mall, where U-Save is situated, was the centre most affected.

He said tyres were burnt on the MyCiti routes, as well as council bins. Van Wyk said no one was arrested.

Mayoral committee member for transport and urban development Brett Herron said the move to suspend the MyCiti bus service was made in the interest of the safety of commuters.

“Innocent public transport users always have to bear the brunt of the protesters’ anger and frustration. This is deplorable. It is really sad that our commuters, who use our buses to get to work and school, are inconvenienced and deprived of a service they very much rely on,” Herron said.

All feeder routes in Atlantis have also been suspended, said Herron.

He said commuters would still be able to take the T02 bus that operates from the Civic Centre station to Atlantis, but it will now turn at Charel Uys Drive in the industrial area.

Herron said the T03 trunk route, between Century City and Table View, is still operational, but as is the case with the T02 route, buses will not go to the Atlantis station and commuters will disembark at the Atlantis bus depot.

The police, metro police, law enforcement, traffic and public order police units were present and monitoring the volatile situation late yesterday.

Herron said commuters may visit the MyCiTi website on www.myciti.org.za for regular updates and to follow twitter @MyCiTiBus or call 0800 65 64 63.