Rough ride ahead: Taxi industry warns commuters of ‘stay away’ in next week
|Published
CONTENTIOUS MATTER: Cata and Codeta on the B97 route. File photo
Commuters need to brace themselves again next week after the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) has threatened a “stay away”.
The announcement was made shortly after members of Santaco held a general meeting in Mitchells Plain on Tuesday.
According to Santaco chairperson Mandla Hermanus, the meeting was held to highlight “many issues” that have been affecting the industry.
One of the main concerns was the reopening of the controversial B97 Paarl-Bellville route, which was closed by Mobility MEC Daylin Mitchell for more than a year following violence by rival taxi associations.
Hermanus said the council has now been informed that Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS) had never stopped operating on the route.
The route was reopened to the taxi industry in December 2022.
Hermanus said Santaco approached Mitchell’s office for clarity but had not received satisfactory responses.
“The responses ranged from GABS is only operating from Wellington to Cape Town via Paarl, to GABS having had the B97 route 20 years ago, even though they had never operated there.
“Santaco will continue to engage with the Department of Transport on this matter as it has a potential to destabilise that area again,” Hermanus said.
He also called out the City for adopting traffic by-laws which he said is targeting the minibus taxi industry and said that the council would be taking the by-laws on judicial review.
“To this effect a law firm will be formally appointed by next week.”
Furthermore Santaco said that there was no transparency about the recent lifting of the ban on metered taxi operating licences.
“The lifting of the moratorium was intended to flood the City of Cape Town with thousands of e-hailing providers, to the detriment of the traditional metered taxi and minibus taxi operators.
“The industry is calling on the City of Cape Town to also issue operating licences to members of registered minibus taxi associations,” added Hermanus.
Golden Arrow Bus Services spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer said while they terminated its Paarl to Bellville service on December 23, it has been operating on a separate route from Wellington to the City for many years.
“We are in possession of valid operating permits for every route on which we operate and that we operate according to our contract with the Western Cape Provincial Department of Transport.”
Santaco said the date of the stay away will be communicated before the end of the week.