Taxi shutdown escalates: All Durban regions suspend operations

MINIBUS taxi commuters around Durban might be forced to find alternative transport or stay at home on Thursday and Friday as taxi regions in the eThekwini Municipality are still locked in a meeting to decide whether they are grounding their fleet or not.

The city-wide halting of service coincides with an ongoing two-day-long minibus taxi shutdown by the Clermont KwaDabeka Taxi Owners Association, which is protesting the seizure of 25 minibus taxis by the Durban Metro Police last week.

However, the five regional taxi associations affiliated with the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) insist that the action which is still under discussion is not a strike, saying all Durban regions will instead ground their fleets from Thursday and Friday onwards.

Mathula Mkhize, chairperson of the eThekwini Municipality Taxi Council (EMTC), confirmed that no taxis would operate in Durban and surrounding areas pending the decision of the regions.

He said the industry’s frustration stems from two weeks of failing to secure an audience with the city’s executive.

“There’s a gap between government and Santaco at (the) eThekwini level. Even last week, we tried, not because of Clermont KwaDabeka. Our concern is aligning issues with Metro Police and eThekwini Council. The Clermont KwaDabeka matter and e-hailing are only the tip of the iceberg,” said Mkhize.

He added that the e-hailing issue could be resolved through engagement, calling it an isolated matter.

“We have had no leader in eThekwini to engage with for 14 days,” he said.

According to Mkhize, when Santaco does engage, the municipality only sends junior or middle managers with no decision-making authority.

“We represent the industry as decision makers, so it helps to engage with equals,” he said, suggesting a meeting with the mayor, city manager and speaker could break the deadlock.

On the Clermont KwaDabeka dispute, Mkhize stressed they were not opposed to taxis being impounded where justified, but Metro Police were allegedly flouting procedures.

He claimed taxis with valid permits were also seized.

Mkhize rejected the term “strike”, saying, “We have no one to strike against since we haven't had an audience with the city leaders.”

But he confirmed that all Santaco regions in Durban, South 1, South 2, Durban Central, Durban West and Greater North, were locked in meetings to finalise the grounding of taxis.

The Clermont KwaDabeka Taxi Owners Association, who had 25 minibuses seized by the municipality for operating without permits, escalated their matter to the Santaco Durban West Region, which in turn referred it to the EMTC.

This was after the local association couldn't find a solution. The taxis were seized in a multidisciplinary blitz last week following an attack against two men who are e-hailing operators who were seated in a seven-seater vehicle, popular with e-hailing operators, near Kranskloof Hostel, KwaDabeka.

The grounding of taxis is expected to hit workers, learners and students hardest, while also coinciding with social grant payments tomorrow.

Previous shutdowns have shown the bus industry cannot absorb demand when taxis are off the road.

The two days of no taxis have proven difficult for commuters in Clermont, with some being forced to walk from the township to the nearby industrial hub of New Germany, about 3 km away, and to Pinetown, about 7 km away, to get connecting taxis to their destination.

“I was forced to walk to Pinetown and luckily got a lift in New Germany. I’m still recovering from an operation and don’t think I would have made it otherwise. But I know I would have been in trouble if I had missed work. This is unfair, and I hope a solution comes soon,” said a mother of two who works at a frozen foods warehouse in Westmead.

Those who tried to find refuge in e-hailing were discouraged by the steep price, which increased further due to the high demand for the service.

The Clermont shutdown has also affected teaching and learning, not just for pupils who attend schools in the area but for those who attend schools outside of Clermont, as scholar transport was unavailable.

Yesterday, speaking to the Sunday Tribune's sister paper, The Daily News, Metro police spokesperson Boysie Zungu said they would not allow taxis to operate without permits in the city.

He stated that they met with the taxi association on Monday and were supposed to continue their discussion on Tuesday, but that meeting did not materialise.

"We are waiting for them (taxi operators) to come back to us," he said.

"We are assisting taxi operators who have received their receipts for the renewal of permits and those who have applied for new car registrations, which would differ in their permits due to the change of registration," he added.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE