The Western Cape MEC of Transport has reopened the much anticipated minibus taxi route B97 between Bellville and Paarl, which has been the subject of conflict among taxi organisations in the province.
The route was opened nearly 18 months after it was closed, and handed over to the taxi industry by MEC Daylin Mitchell on Thursday.
Mitchell said he closed the route in July 2021 when he invoked his powers under section 91 of the National Land Transport Act (5 of 2009) following continuous incidents of violence between members of the rival associations over control of the route.
“This section of the legislation allows the MEC responsible for transport in the province to declare an area as high risk in respect of taxi violence and to close affected ranks and routes where the safety of passengers and people entering the area has degenerated to an unacceptable level.
“To minimise disruptions to travel patterns, I authorised Golden Arrow Bus Services to provide a replacement service for commuters while the route was closed. This service will continue to run in parallel with the taxi services until all valid tickets have been used,” said Mitchell.
He said the decision to reopen the route followed the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Cata Boland Taxi Association and the Paarl Alliance Taxi Association (affiliated with Codeta). Both associations have legal rights to trade on this route.
“The associations have agreed to coexist and to jointly provide the services authorised by their operating licences. It is important to note that most long-standing agreements are reached by consensus between the parties and not when conditions are imposed by the government,” he said.
Mitchell said his department had invested a considerable amount of time, funding and energy into mediation efforts that did not have the desired effect. This was followed by an arbitration process to determine the legal rights to trade on this route. The arbitration award was released in November 2021 and confirmed that members of both associations had the requisite rights to provide minibus taxi type services on route B97.
“A decision to close a taxi route is always a last resort given that it impacts the livelihood of operators, and has an impact on our commuters. I commend the industry’s leadership for remaining committed to the peace process and working tirelessly to find a workable solution,” he said.
“Together with the Santaco provincial and regional leadership, we continued to search for common ground between the parties, and we are pleased that we are signing this agreement. This conflict has been ongoing for more than 20 years, and this is a watershed moment that will hopefully set a good precedent for the minibus taxi industry.
“Although I am pleased about the outcome of the process and the reopening of this route, we will continue to monitor the route in partnership with the local government and intervene if necessary in the interests of commuter safety.”