Driver jumps out as 'passengers' torch MyCiti bus in Cape Town

A MyCiti bus driver was forced to flee for his life after three “passengers” boarded, threw petrol inside and set the vehicle alight in Cape Town.

The bus was torched while en route from Cape Town to Omuramba station in Milnerton around 7.45pm on Wednesday.

The city’s law enforcement director Robbie Roberts said three men stopped the bus on Koeberg Road. While it was stationary, they used petrol to set it on fire.

“The bus caught fire and the suspects ran away. The driver also jumped out of the bus,” he said.

One of the fleeing suspects was identified by the community and security, and was promptly arrested.

Roberts said the damage caused to the bus would run into millions of rands.

The incident happened just hours after more than 80 fired MyCiti bus drivers forced the Civic Centre - the home of the Cape Town municipal government - to shut down on Wednesday.

The drivers were fired by their employers, the vehicle-operating companies who run buses for the city, after a six-week unprotected strike.

The bus drivers demanded to be employed by the city. Currently, the city uses contractors to employ drivers to operate its fleet of buses.

The drivers threw glass bottles and rocks at police, who forced them out of the Civic Centre.