Buses and taxis were stoned by residents of Motherwell near Port Elizabeth on Wednesday, Eastern Cape police said.

Captain André Beetge said violence flared up around 6.20am in Ngonyama Street in Motherwell.

Two police officers saw people breaking the windows of Algoa buses and saw people climbing out of the bus through the windows and the door.

About 50m further police saw another buse's windows being broken from the inside and people climbing out through the broken windows.

Three shots were fired at police. No one was injured during the shooting.

The attack started with buses but spread to taxis and then to cars on the roads.

Commuters were stranded and became angry which led them to partake in the stoning action.

Buses and taxis were taken out of the suburbs under police escort as police tried to minimise potential conflict.

Beetge said police had reacted early and had managed to calm the situation down.

He said around 11am that he believed the worst had passed and hoped Thursday would be better.

A strong police presence was maintained.

He said there were many people stranded without transport and unable to get to work.

Beetge called on employers to allow their employees grace because many of them were unable to get transport to work.

He described the start of the incident as co-ordinated. It started in many areas around the same time.

The attacks seemed aimed at bringing public transport to a halt, he said.

Police believe the attack may have been discussed before the time.

Beetge was unable to say that a specific group had been responsible but said he was waiting for reports to establish the true width of the incident.

He was unsure how many people had been arrested but confirmed that one attempted murder case relating to the shooting was being investigated.

He said it was believed some people might have been injured during the rock throwing.

A protest had been scheduled to take place in Port Elizabeth over public transport and new minibuses in preparation for the 2010 soccer world cup.

It was uncertain if the protest action had any bearing on the incident.

Sapa