Motorists and commuters can expect chaos on the roads on Wednesday, when taxi drivers are expected to down tools in protest.
This was announced by the South African Taxi Council (Santaco) in the Western Cape on Thursday, following two days of meeting with taxi associations in the province.
According to the provincial chairperson of Santaco, Mandla Hermanus, all operators would park their taxis either at home or at the ranks on Wednesday.
Hermanus said the following reasons were behind this action:
– Unfair impoundments of minibus taxis for minor traffic violations by drivers.
– The marginalisation of the taxi industry in the issuing of operating licences.
“The City of Cape Town recently lifted a moratorium on metered taxi operating licences, which will result in more than 2 000 new operating licences for e-hailing providers.
“On the other hand, there is going to be a five-year moratorium on minibus taxi operating licences without first legalising all current illegal operators,” Hermanus said.
However, Mayco member for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas, said that Santaco’s claims were dishonest.
“This is an attempt by some of those in the industry to establish a regime where they can operate with impunity.
“Of great concern also are attempts to undermine, threaten and prevent other public transport service providers from operating in certain areas in Cape Town,” he explained.
“I want to make it very clear to Santaco: no single stakeholder has a monopoly over public transport in Cape Town.
“Further, we will not be intimidated or discouraged from acting against those who are driving around without driver’s licences and transporting commuters in vehicles that are unlicensed and not roadworthy,” Quintas added.