State vs taxi industry: it’s war

The taxi industry on Sunday tossed down a gauntlet, vowing that from Monday all minibus taxis would load at 100% capacity.

And should a single minibus taxi be impounded for violating the lockdown regulations, which state that taxis are supposed to load at only 70% capacity, they would bring SA to a standstill by embarking on a nationwide strike.

Santaco vowed that they would “take the bull by the horns”, describing transport minister Fikile Mbalula as having a “tendency” not to take them seriously. This was after Mbalula postponed a scheduled meeting for the fourth time with taxi bosses on Sunday.

The latest salvo by Santaco comes as the standoff between the government and the taxi industry worsened over a proposed R1.1bn (R5,000 per car) relief fund. Taxi bosses have demanded R4bn, which is R20,000 per car — which Mbalula says the government simply cannot afford.

An irate Santaco president Phillip Taaibosch announced during a virtual press briefing that they would also resume long distance operations on Monday.

“We have taken this decision against lack of support from the government. Tomorrow we will not accept any form of impounding. If taxis are impounded all taxis in SA will come to a standstill.

“We have decided that all provincial structures will from Monday, load 100% capacity — whether the minister approves or not. All long-distance taxis must resume operation. No permits will be wanted from passengers in long-distance taxis.

“We have complied for 26 years but we have not seen any benefits except losing benefits and livelihoods. We have decided to face the bull and take the bull by its horns. We cannot have postponements over livelihoods,” he charged.

Taaibosch said it would be compulsory for commuters to wear masks, taxis would be sanitised, and long-distance operators' marshals would ensure all commuters were screened.

The virtual news conference was also addressed by Santaco provincial leaders, including Eastern Cape chair Lungiswa Mabija, who said they were fully behind the decision to resume full capacity operations.

The stance of the taxi industry could be seen as a declaration of war as battle lines have clearly been drawn with the defiance. Should the taxi industry embark on a nationwide shutdown, hundreds of thousands of commuters and workers would be left stranded.

The consequences of such a strike in an already crippled economy would be dire.

The looming confrontation comes as already hard-pressed commuters in the Eastern Cape brace for more pain at the fuel pumps from Wednesday, the same day as a taxi fare increase.

In some areas in Buffalo City Metro, according to taxi drivers, the fare hike was expected to go up by as much as 50%.

This is despite an assurance last month by Mabija that the increase would not be more than 10%.

Commuters are bitterly unhappy about the fare hike, accusing the taxi industry of greed.

Commuter Mzoxolo Benyane said: “We were told the increase will not be more than 10% and now we hear the increase would be between R4 and R5. That's too much for some people taking two taxis to work. Increasing the price is fair but it should be by R1, as they usually did in the past.”

National Taxi Association spokesperson Theo Mahlele told eNCA on Sunday that the government's refusal to meet their R4bn relief fund demand could lead to the association to “take this [issue] to the Constitutional Court and see its constitutionality".

“This is criminality. The losses we have incurred since lockdown runs into millions of rands,”  said Mahlele.

At the time of writing, Mbalula's spokesperson Ayanda Allie-Payne could not be reached for comment as her phone rang unanswered and did not reply to a text message.