New vertical lift truck added to speed up illegal parking towing

CAPE TOWN - A new vertical lift truck has been added to the City of Cape Town department’s towing fleet, to clear illegally parked vehicles more efficiently, and in a manner that conventional tow trucks can’t.

The vertical lift truck is not an entirely new concept – years ago, the City’s Traffic Services had access to a contracted vehicle. When that contract ceased, work started to finalise specifications and other requirements to acquire a vertical lift vehicle for the City – that goal was finally achieved in the current financial year.

Its acquisition takes the Traffic Services’ towing fleet to seven vehicles, and three more on the way.

The vertical lift truck removed six vehicles during the last week of March.

"This vertical lift truck makes it so much easier to remove vehicles, particularly ones that are parked in and can’t be moved using the conventional tow trucks. Its forklift mechanism makes the work a breeze. It’s early days yet, and our staff are familiarising themselves with the new vehicle, so we expect the rate of pickups to increase rapidly in the near future. This should be a wake-up call to those motorists who think they can get away with breaking the law by parking as they please, without due regard for others," said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.