The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng demands that the National Minister of Transport, Barbra Creecy, immediately intervene in the current situation in the taxi industry. Today, thousands of commuters in Ekurhuleni have been left stranded by the taxi industry as they have embarked on a wildcat strike over delays in issuing permits, resulting in their taxis being impounded.
This is despite an undertaking by the Gauteng MEC for Roads and Logistics, Kedibone Diale Tlabela, that taxi drivers still waiting on permits will be given a reprieve, provided they can prove that they have applied for an operating licence.
Taxi drivers in Ekurhuleni are complaining that their taxis are being impounded and that they have to pay R5,000 each time to get their vehicles released. This happens while there is a backlog in issuing operating permits in the province.
It is high time that the MEC for Roads and Logistics starts doing her job and engages with the taxi industry to find a proper solution to the problem. The MEC’s undertaking, which she gave a few weeks ago, that e-hailing drivers and taxi drivers will be exempted from penalties while waiting for their operating licences, has not been implemented.
Commuters are now left scrambling to find alternate modes of transport to work and school, which is unacceptable.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would immediately hold a stakeholder engagement to understand the issues faced by the taxi industry. Instead of making promises that will not be fulfilled, we would immediately engage the National Department of Transport to fast-track the issuing of operating licences, so that all public transport vehicles are operating legally on the road.