There will be no Cape Town taxis operating in the city centre from Thursday, 3 August 2023.
Cape Town taxis embark on week-long ‘stay-away’: Here’s what you must know
The atmosphere was buzzing inside a community hall in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, where several taxi associations, joined by key members of the regional political parties, met to discuss a decisive response to this week’s clashes with the Western Cape law enforcement.
Mandla Hermanus, chairperson of the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO), led proceedings with criticism toward the City’s newly-implemented traffic by-laws, claiming minibus drivers were targeted for offences as trivial as resting their elbow on the window pane.
Last week, the City of Cape Town enforced a range of strict by-laws, which behested traffic officers with powers to impound vehicles for a range of offences, including:
- reckless or negligent driving or illegal street racing;
- unlicensed discs with an expiry date predating 90 days;
- unregistered vehicles;
- vehicles with no licence plates;
- vehicles in a state of disrepair and not roadworthy;
- taxis found in contravention of the conditions of approval of its operating licence, and not on their approved route;
- abandoned vehicles; and, among others,
- unlicensed drivers;
Thursday’s SANTACO symposium was the consequence of violent clashes between taxi drivers and Cape Town metro police officers near the main transit deck in the CBD earlier this week, where live ammunition and stun grenades were reportedly traded in the violent encounter.
Following a vote, Cape Town taxi associations approved a week-long stay-away, starting on Thursday, 3 August 2023.
As reported by Daily Maverick journo, Velani Ludidi, these routes are likely to be impacted by the Cape Town taxis stay-away:
- Mitchell’s Plain
- Northern Suburbs
- Boland route
- Greater Cape Town region
- Garden Route
More than likely, the Cape Town taxis’ stay-away will affect every transit route connecting to the city centre and according to reports, the shutdown is expected to last beyond Women’s Day, on Wednesday, 9 August 2023.
From what we understand, taxi associations want a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa and every effort will be made to cause disruptions at the 2023 Netball World Cup final taking place on Sunday, 6 August 2023.
This is a developing story.