In Tutu Avenue in Khayelitsha's Makhaza area on the Cape Flats a commuter bus was torched just before 5am. Witnesses said the bus was empty when "someone threw a bomb inside it".

"We heard a noise and when we got there the bus was already finished. Now people are burning tyres in the street. We are not leaving the house," said a commuter who lives on Tutu Avenue.

She said two more buses were set alight in Lansdowne Road and in Shushu Crescent in Khayelitsha.

Cape Town fire services confirmed the incident in Shushu Crescent and said a Golden Arrow bus was also torched next to Falsebay College in Lingelethu-West.

No injuries were reported.

Golden Arrow, Cape Town's main bus operator, said the incidents were affecting its services in Khayelitsha, Delft and Nyanga.

"We have had to suspend services into Delft and Nyanga and are now operating from the outskirts," the company said in a Facebook post.

The arson coincides with a planned strike by Cape Town minibus taxis over an unsettled dispute relating to the provincial leadership of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco).

Taxi associations have said the strike would continue until a pre-elective conference is held, ahead of the conference to elect a provincial leadership for Santaco that is scheduled for August 14.

African News Agency (ANA)