Commuters to brace themselves as SA Taxi Council in the Western Cape to embark on stay away
|Published
Cape Town - After two days of meeting with taxi associations, the South African Taxi Council (Santaco) in the Western Cape has announced a ‘provincial stay away’ next week.
Commuters will be forced to find alternative transport.
According to the provincial chairperson of Santaco, Mandla Hermanus, following the meeting on Wednesday, it has resolved to embark on a stay away on Wednesday, February 22.
He said all operators would park their taxis either at home or at the taxi ranks.
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 licenses.
“The City of Cape Town recently lifted a moratorium on metered taxi operating licenses, which will result in more than 2000 new operating licenses for e-hailing providers.
“On the other hand, there is going to be a five-year moratorium on minibus taxi operating licenses without first legalising all current illegal operators,” Hermanus said.
He said another reason for the stay away was due to the Western Cape Government allowing the Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) to continue operating on the B97 route from Mbekweni to Paarl, despite the route being officially reopened to the taxi associations on December 8, by then MEC for mobility, Daylin Mitchell.
The route was closed by Mitchell following violence by rival taxi associations.
“GABS never operated in that area until the closure of that route to the taxi industry.
“Even then, we were led to believe that it was a temporary arrangement and the operations would stop as soon as the taxi industry signed an agreement and received operating licenses,” Hermanus said.
Santaco has also urged its members not to engage in any violence, intimidation or destruction during the stay away.
GABS spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer told Daily Voice while it 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,” Dyke-Beyer told the publication.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said it was unacceptable that taxi associations in Khayelitsha were holding blockades preventing scholar transport from transporting pupils to schools.
It said this has resulted in more than 5 000 pupils from Khayelitsha and neighbouring areas not attending schools.
“Minibus taxi association members have been threatening and harassing our contracted drivers to prevent them from transporting learners. This is an attempt to muscle in on transport contracts and to extort money from the Western Cape Education Department.
“The minibus taxi mafia has now escalated their action by threatening to “offload” pupils from any transport not operated by the associations, including the cars of parents doing everything they can to get their children to school safely.
“Parents now find themselves with the terrible choice between keeping their children safe and making sure their education can continue. They should never have to choose between the two.
“Our schools are also scrambling to make sure that pupils do not fall too far behind, and we thank them for their efforts to develop work packs and keep in contact with parents.
“What the minibus taxi associations are doing is a crime and cannot be justified by any of the false claims that they have made to the press,” MEC for Education David Maynier said.
This is the second week the blockades have been ongoing.
On the issue of scholar transport, Hermanus said: “The provincial leadership of Santaco engaged the operators from Khayelitsha and surrounding areas where there is a blockade of scholar transport.
“The leadership from those associations agreed to allow Santaco to intervene and communicate with WCED. They indicated that WCED made it clear that a meeting with them is out of the question whilst the blockade is continuing.
“We have undertaken to request a meeting with WCED, which will not include the leadership of Codeta, to look at ways of bringing this to an end.
“Santaco noted the impact this is having on pupils who are from the poorest communities as they lose valuable time,” Hermanus said.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
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