CAPE Town’s taxi industry remains volatile and the highly contested B97 taxi route remains closed as lawmakers remain divided on how and when exactly the once lucrative route should reopen.
It’s almost a year since taxi associations the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) and the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) were barred from accessing the major route that stretches between Mbekweni in Paarl and Bellville after violence claimed more than 100 lives.
Both associations have legitimate, legal claims to the route, according to an arbitrator ruling that’s being kept under wraps.
“The closure remains because both the department and associations had asked for clarity on certain points,” head of the Transport Department in the Western Cape Jandré Bakker told Weekend Argus.
But Codeta said this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“We’ve got nothing to say, we’re just waiting for the department to open the route and we are also waiting for them to tell us who controls that route,” Codeta spokesperson Andile Kanyi said.
“I’m surprised when they said both Cata and Codeta do have the necessary operating rights to operate in the same area.
“Where do they see Cata and Codeta working in the same location? That is the problem and they know that we will not work together,” he said, adding that the department was “creating a problem. It’s the black people that are dying like flies, that’s why they don’t care”.
Cata’s Mandla Hermanus agreed.
He said nearly 40 vehicles operate on the route and each driver had been making at least between R1 000 to R1 400 a day before the closure.
“Every day we can’t operate on that route, it’s a huge loss for the industry,” he said.
The dispute between Cata and Codeta over the B97 route led to violence and multiple murders in the Western Cape.
More than 100 taxi-related murders took place in the province in the past year, 10 killings in the past four months.
In the most recent incident, two men believed to be taxi drivers were shot and killed in Bloekombos in Kraaifontein this week.
Police say the two men, aged 36 and 50, were shot and killed, while a 35-year-old man was wounded.
To express their dissatisfaction with the violence, ongoing closure of the B97 route and other grievances, both Cata and Coteda led a one-day protest last week that was marred by violence.
They held a picket outside the provincial legislature where they wanted to hand a memorandum to Premier Alan Winde, but instead were met by Andrè Joemat from the premier’s office who signed the memorandum of grievances.
During the picket at least three Golden Arrow buses were completely gutted and which it will cost R2.5 million to replace.
The protesters gave the provincial government seven days to respond.
“The memorandum was issued to the office of the premier and we have been informed that the memorandum has been responded to,” Bakker said.
Both associations are happy with the response.
“We received a very positive response from the premier’s office,” Kanyi said.
The registered trade union for employees in the retail motor industry, Misa, said it did not condone the actions taken by the taxi industry.
The public spat between the two associations was highly disruptive, according to Misa.
Spokesperson Sonja Carstens told Weekend Argus that commuters had a hard time travelling to and from work during the taxi protests.
“The taxi industry should be regulated and action needs to be taken against lawlessness.”