Stranded taxi commuters hitching a ride outside the empty metro mall taxi rank during the previous strike

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Taxi strike set to rock Joburg Taxi commuters could be stranded and Joburg roads clogged when convoys of striking taxi operators make their way to Pretoria to protest against the taxi recapitalisation plan on Friday morning. October 26, 2006 By Michael Tsingo COMMUTERS may have to make other transport arrangements ahead of a planned taxi strike on Friday, 27 October. Operators affiliated to the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) are to embark on a strike and a protest march to Pretoria against the implementation of the taxi recapitalisation plan. Taxi bosses also want the government to speed up the issuing of operating licenses and to stop impounding their vehicles. Peak hour traffic along Johannesburg's freeways could be disrupted as convoys of minibuses ferry taxi operators to Pretoria ahead of the march. Joburg taxis may not be there to ferry commuters on Friday But Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson, Edna Mamonyane anticipates no traffic disturbances on Joburg's freeways. "We have not received any formal application for the protest, all we know is that they are going to converge at Southgate mall and from there drive to Pretoria. Traffic disturbances will occur in Pretoria," she said. Taxi operators will converge at the corner of Schubart and Proes streets in Pretoria at 7am, before marching to the Union Buildings at 11am, according to Alpheus Mlalazi, general secretary of the Gauteng Taxi Alliance, an umbrella body of taxi associations operating across Gauteng. The protest is part of a national campaign by the NTA. The NTA has called for the government's multibillion rand recapitalisation plan to be aborted, saying new taxis will be unaffordable and will take many operators out of business. "Government is trying to introduce certain specifications on new vehicles which the industry cannot afford," says Mlalazi. "We are battling to pay the R142 000 for the Toyota Siyayas, and now they want to introduce Daimler Sprinter, Iveco and Toyota Quantum which cost more than R300 000." The government has offered taxi operators R50 000 for scrapping old, unroadworthy vehicles. But only operators who surrender their permits can benefit from the scheme. Mlalazi says this amount is too little. "After the deposit, one is left owing at least R250 000 which should be paid in 48 months," he says. However, not all taxi operators support the protest campaign. The recapitalisation plan has received support from the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco), a government recognised taxi body. Communications head for Santaco, Thabisho Molelekwa, says the council is "happy and comfortable" with the recapitalisation project. "Taxi recapitalisation ensures that people are transported in safe, reliable and comfortable vehicles; because people pay for the service, there should be value for people's money," says Molelekwa. A rank manager with the Alexandra Taxi Association, Vusi Kubheka, says he does not have any job option if the taxis are scrapped because his association will not be able to afford a new fleet. "I currently earn R700 a week and I have a wife and four children to take care of and I don't know where I will pick up that money," says Kubheka. Mlalazi says the issuing of new permits has not kept pace with the increasing demand for taxis over the past decade. "There is a lot of urbanisation with the rise of squatter camps and RDP housing, but our people cannot get permits," says Mlalazi. While the taxi industry will present a memorandum of grievances to the transport minister, Jeff Radebe on Friday, the taxi recapitalisation seems to be on track, with the minister set to launch the taxi scrapping ceremony in Bloemfontein on Saturday 28 October. The minister will also launch the new specified vehicles to replace the current fleet of taxis. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za