CAPE Town commuters were shocked after a bus they were travelling in went up in flames on the N2 near Bochards Quarry on Thursday, 15 February.
Commuter Amanda Tyhaliti (44) from Khayelitsha said she was on her way to work when the MyCiti bus unexpectedly burst into flames.
“An explosion went out from the back of the bus while it was driving on N2. When we looked back, we were shocked to see flames at the back window. People started screaming, and the driver stopped as people were rushing to the door,” said Tyhaliti.
Sandiso Msawuli (28) said he was walking along N2 when he saw flames in the bus.
“I was shocked because there were lots of people inside the bus. Luckily, the driver saw the incident and quickly allowed commuters to disembark safely,” said Msawuli.
MMC for Urban Mobility Rob Quintas confirmed the incident.
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“A MyCiTi bus travelling along the N2 highway inbound had to pull over at the Borchards Quarry off-ramp at around 07:50 this morning, 15 February 2024, due to a fire that started at the back of the vehicle. The bus was travelling from Kuyasa in Khayelitsha to the Civic Centre station in the CBD,” said Quintas.
Quintas said the passengers and driver evacuated the bus and were transferred to another bus, and no injuries were reported.
He added that the vehicle operating company which is contracted to operate the N2 Express Service must investigate and report the cause of the fire.
Quintas said the company must highlight measures to prevent similar incidents in future and added that the City will ask the company to provide a service report card of the fleet of buses operating the N2 Express service, including the bus involved in the incident today.
“The City has also been informed that the insurer will deploy a specialist to assist with the investigation into the possible cause(s) and measures to address these as a matter of urgency. The bus manufacturer, operator, and specialist will convene after the investigation to establish a process forward,” said Quintas.
