Cape Town, 4 August 2023: Cape Town peak hour traffic came to a standstill after South Africa’s largest taxi association, SANTACO (South African National Taxi Council), called for a taxi driver strike in the Cape Town metro area. The strike comes two days after clashes between Cape Town traffic authorities and taxi drivers after several taxis were impounded for various bylaw contraventions.

On the N2 highway, one of the two major highways into the Cape Town CBD, several vehicles were torched. Peak hour traffic was gridlocked for hours as major vehicle routes were blocked and traffic diverted. On the N2 highway between Bunga Avenue and Jakes Gerwel Drive 6 vehicles were torched including a traffic vehicle.

After 7pm hundreds of commuters were still trying to board buses at Cape Town Bus Terminus. Law enforcement vehicles were dispatched to escort Golden Arrow buses to disembark on the fringes of townships, with passengers thereafter having to make their way on foot.