32 children crammed in minibus taxi; driver arrested

A 24-year-old East London taxi driver has been arrested for reckless and negligent driving after he was caught carrying 32 schoolchildren inside a 14-seater Toyota Quantum minibus taxi.

There were 34 passengers in total inside the taxi including the driver and his conductor, said Buffalo City Metro spokeswoman Bathandwa Diamond.

The driver was arrested at Griffin Street in Cambridge at 7.25am on Thursday trying to get out of a traffic jam by overtaking a long queue of vehicles at “dangerously” high speed.

He was driving on the wrong lane straight into oncoming traffic, said Diamond.

Diamond said the driver was driving from the Amalinda area to Cambridge with pupils from Cambridge, Hudson, Stirling and Port Rex High schools.

Mdantsane police spokesman Captain Nkosikho Mzuku said the driver was detained at the Cambridge police cells for six hours before he was released on R1 000 bail.

Mzuku said the suspect will appear in court “soon”.

Eastern Cape Department of Transport has condemned the overloading incident. Transport department spokeswoman Khuselwa Rantjie said the department will intensify awareness to learners as well as public transport drivers about the dangers of overloading.