By Tauhierah Salie Solomon The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) in the Western Cape has distanced itself from calls for a national shutdown. It comes amid threats to bring the country’s roads to a halt, to get government to respond to industry concerns, particularly record fuel prices. The current coastal price of petrol is around R26 per litre and around R25 per litre of diesel. South Africans have been […]
LOCAL Law enforcement agencies have begun impounding several taxis that are operating illegally in George in the Southern Cape. This is in line with a court interdict obtained by the George municipality, that stipulates that any taxi driver without a valid operating licence, will be subject to immediate arrest and their vehicle will be impounded. Taxi association, CODETA, has been operating without valid permits in the town since 2019, inspite […]
South Africa's National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJoints) stated that law enforcement officers have been deployed and are on high alert following threats of a “national shutdown” set to take place tomorrow. This follows unsigned messages and posters were circulated on various social media platforms, calling for a national shutdown. Members of the public are cautioned against spreading such messages that seek to mobilise communities to respond. National police […]
LOCAL The National Taxi Alliance (NTA) says it has not yet decided whether it will support the call for a national shutdown, in protest against the recent fuel hikes. The NTA says it is currently engaging with the government to try and get it to exempt the taxi industry from some of the fuel levies and taxes. However, NTA spokesperson Theo Malele says should government fail to respond to their demands they […]
LOCAL The B97 minibus taxi route between Mbekweni in Paarl and Bellville will remain closed for a further 4 months. In July last year, a number of violent incidents took place on the route as a result of tensions between conflicting taxi associations, the local Paarl Alliance Taxi Association, which is affiliated to CODETA, and CATA Boland. Both claimed rights to run the contentious route. The violence claimed the lives […]
LOCAL Transport minister, Fikile Mbalula, says they have extended the period for the disbursement of the Covid-19 Taxi Relief Fund to the 31st of March next year. He was speaking at the South African National Taxi Council’s elective conference in North West on Monday. The minister urged the taxi council to ensure that every operator who meets the requirements receives their fair share of the fund. Mbalula estimates that the […]
E-hailing drivers say their industry has become tainted by unscrupulous criminals who easily enter their platforms because of a weak vetting systems. “We are getting robbed. We are having our riders robbed and that brings us a bad name. We are asking for regulations as an intervention, we are being harassed by our counterparts in the minibus taxi and meter taxis and we want these issues to be resolved in […]
COMMUNITY Western Cape Transport Minister, Daylin Mitchell, says all loading lanes at the Bellville Public Transport Interchange have been re-opened except for the Paarl loading lane at the long distance facility. Route B97 for taxis between Mbekweni and Bellville was closed last month following a deadly feud between associations, CATA and CODETA. Mitchell says relative calm has been restored to all affected taxi routes. "Following the signing of an agreement […]
Taxis in some areas affected by recent Western Cape taxi violence will resume operations, but only under strict conditions. This after negotiations between the two warring associations resumed. This is according to a joint statement issued by the national department of transport and the Western Cape department of transport and public works. In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, the two departments said arbitration conversations between the Cape Amalgamated Taxi […]
VOC became the first Muslim radio station in South Africa when a special events license was granted to the station in Ramadan/January 1995. Subsequent temporary broadcast licenses were granted, permitting the station to broadcast for 24 hours.
