Golden Arrow warns of looming taxi war

As another taxi driver was killed in the clash over routes, Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS) is warning of a looming taxi war.

Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the latest taxi-related shooting incident on Tuesday night, at about 9.50pm, in Mpozolo Street, Brown’s Farm.

“A 48-year-old man was shot and fatally wounded. Police members responded to a complaint of a shooting, and upon arrival on the scene, they found the victim with multiple gunshot wounds to his body.

“The victim was declared dead on the scene by medical personnel. The suspects fled and are yet to be arrested. The motive for the attack is yet to be determined.”

The victim was a taxi owner and a member of Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata), whose vehicles operated on an uncontested route from Elsies River to Parow.

“The last time I saw the member was on Tuesday afternoon. I even joked with him that he was my bodyguard, and then, after the Bafana Bafana match, I received a call that he had been murdered. He was getting out of his car when he was gunned down in front of his home.

“It came as a shock to me because his route was not affected by the conflict. He was serving under the regional working committee of Cata,” said Nkululeko Sityebi, Cata spokesperson.

In the last three months, 26 taxi-related murders were recorded by the organisations.

Sityebi said they have lost eight members, while the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) chairperson, Nceba Enge, confirmed they lost 18 people.

The motive for the killings was linked to operational problems on the Somerset-Mfuleni and Somerset-Khayelitsha routes.

Codeta was licensed only to drop passengers off in Somerset West, and Cata would take them back.

However, Codeta said they wanted to return with their customers, breaking their agreement signed in June.

Against this backdrop of violence, GABS told the Western Cape Legislature’s Standing Committee on Mobility that Cape Town risks sliding into another taxi war unless the minibus taxi industry is fundamentally reformed.

Chief Executive Francois Meyer said the scale of licence fraud, violence, and regulatory failure has created a powder keg.

“If nothing is done, there will be another taxi war,” he warned.

His remarks come just weeks after the Western Cape Taxi Peace Summit exposed a R7 billion operating licence crisis, with hundreds of fake licences confiscated.

Meyer said the real issue is the taxi industry’s business model.

“The root of the problem, which causes the overtrading, lies in the business model. It’s about selling more operating licences. If you don’t change the business model, taxi violence will continue forever.”

He explained that taxi associations often charge new members joining fees of between R30,000 and R120,000 per vehicle, creating a strong incentive to flood already congested routes with more vehicles.

GABS has been directly caught in the fallout of taxi strikes and related violence.

The company reported that nine buses were lost in 2023 during taxi strikes, while around 200 buses are stoned every month.

In June this year, six buses were petrol-bombed, five were damaged, and one was destroyed during service protests.

“Killings in the Cape Town taxi industry are continuing relentlessly. Our depots have been petrol-bombed, shots have been fired at buses, and our drivers face armed robberies every week,” Meyer said.

He noted that security interventions, including cameras, drop-safes, and panic alarms on buses, have reduced robberies and led to convictions, but the wider environment of instability continues to affect commuters.

Meyer warned that the return of limited Metrorail services at heavily subsidised fares was further distorting travel patterns and risked igniting new tensions with taxis.

“There is no fare control on Metrorail’s Khayelitsha and Nyanga line, where fares are as little as a quarter of bus and taxi prices. We have warned the government that this could trigger conflict with taxi operators.”

Sityebi said they have no problem with Prasa and its pricing.

“Golden Arrow must not make us their scapegoat when they want to fight Prasa because they also have fare adjustments and offer free rides for job seekers, and also offer discounts to school children and pensioners. Their programmes have been running for quite some time, and we have not started any war. Commuters have their choice of which mode of transport they want to use, and we are not bothered by that.”

Cape Times