Upset over pirate taxis

Upset over pirate taxis

...................................

“Why should someone have to die before the authorities listen to our pleas for help?” asked Sulaiman Brenner, the manager and secretary of the Retreat Taxi Association.

Mr Brenner was speaking after the recent spate of incidents involving taxi drivers operating from the Retreat station and “pirate” drivers who were allegedly “stealing their passengers”. Two people have died in the fighting already and the death toll is set to rise as taxi drivers threaten to take matters into their own hands.

According to Mr Brenner, he has brought the issue of these “pirate” taxis, who operate without the correct permits, to the attention of various authorities. He says his requests have fallen on deaf ears. “They tell us that they have no manpower. The only time that we see them is when one of our drivers get shot or there is a break-out of violence,” Mr Brenner said.

Warrent Officer Rodney Franks, spokesperson for Kirstenhof police station, said they are aware of the ongoing taxi feud.

“We have raised this issue of illegal operators with numerous authorities relating to the Taxi Industry Regulatory Bodies,” he said , adding that much work needed to be done by the relevant traffic and transport authorities to effectively deal with illegal operators.

“The issue of public safety remains permanent and of the highest priority to us,” WO Franks said, “and we here at the Kirstenhof Police Station are monitoring the situation and will not hesitate to deal with any eventuality as it occurs. We reiterate though, the relevant authorities need to deal with this matter as efficiently and swiftly as possible.”

Vernon Billet, the regional executive chairperson of the South African National Taxi Association( SANTACO), said that he knew nothing of the feud, but would have to investigate the allegations.

When Constantiaberg Bulletin went to investigate, we were met by taxi drivers who refused to comment out of a fear for reprisals. The few who were willing to speak did so on the condition of anonymity. 

“I need to pay my boss R700 every day and if I don't make my target I have to pay him back,” said one taxi driver. “This is becoming all the more difficult to do as more and more ‘pirate’ taxis steal my clients from me. What will happen to my family if I loose my job?”

 “We are mostly law-abiding citizens, we have professional driving permits(PDP) and we have permits to operate in the area and they don't. The authorities know about this but they are not doing anything about it and when we barricade the roads to prevent them from operating in our area we get locked up.”

According to him, the pirate drivers operated along two main routes; the Capricorn to Fish Hoek route and the Westlake to Retreat station. “They are picking passengers up in Westlake and going straight to Wynberg and charging R7 for that! Of course passengers are going to go for that but they are meant to go from Westlake to Retreat Station and then from Retreat Station to Wynberg,” he said, adding that the same thing is being done along the Capricorn route where passengers are taken directly to Wynberg. 

He said the taxi drivers were becoming all the more agitated with the situation and that it was just a matter of time before something unfortunate happened. 

“Together with law enforcement, the Department takes a very strong stance against operators who have no permits to operate on particular routes, and those that unlawfully extend their operations to other routes,” said Robin Carlisle, MEC for Transport and Public Works, adding that the law enforcement has in the past issued fines and impounded vehicles operating in this way.

Another driver said he used to be able to make his target of R700 or R900 a day by nine or 10 in the morning but that now he would sometimes only make his target after 2pm, which did not leave him much time to earn a living for himself and his family.

“I am losing hundreds of rands a day, I wish the law would do something about this,” he said. “And it is no use just patrolling the area, when they see the cops come they just drive away. If they happen to get caught they just get a fine which they get their friends to squash. They need to have their cars impounded, that is the only deterrent,” he said.

blob Illegal operators can be reported to the Public Transport Unit - the place, time, registration number - to 0860 103 089, or to the Department of Transport on 0860 212 414 or Law Enforcement on 021 596 1999

Words and images by Clinton Wittstock

Freelance writer and photographer

Article appeared in the Constantiaberg Bulletin

Read More

Shooting blanks.

Shoot! Shoot a chef, at work in his flat on his balcony! That's what I was meant to be doing today, as part of our grandiose plan to put together a book of hot and not so hot salsa recipes. But those plans began to unravel yesterday when a small minority of taxi drivers took to the streets armed with guns and real live bullets, not blanks, and bricks, stones, fire and whatever else they could wrap their greedy, bloody hands with.

So instead of him cooking up a storm and me photographing the process, I'm writing this and he's most probably washing dishes at the restaurant he is executive chef at, because who in their right mind would want to risk their lives for the meagre salary of a dishwasher?

 And these riots aren't happening  for the first time. And like the times before, they have no right to carry on the way they do! No right! There, I've said it, adding my voice to a million others who are now sick and tired of being held captive by these rogues. Every time they carry on like this, they bring the entire South African economy to her bruised knees. And we're sick of it! Sick of them killing our innocents; our babies, our children, the sick and the elderly, our mothers and fathers.

They want our business and they want the government to rubber-stamp and favour them for the foreign business soon coming to our shores, when the FIFA World Cup honours us as a nation. But the government, quite rightly so, seems to be intent on favouring a Rapid Bus Transport System, like in Brazil, to transport our guests to and fro between stadiums and the many beautiful sights in and around hosting cities. We want them to feel cared for in our country and safe on our roads, to create a sustainable tourism environment.

Just turn back the pages of recent South African history and you will soon see why these people have lost the government's and the peoples  vote of confidence. Innocent people shot dead, burnt alive in their cars, stoned, people threatened with their and their children's lives if they dared go to work and businesses crippled because of the resultant unstable labour force. And more, bus drivers and drivers of other taxi's, under the governance of other associations, shot because they are seen to be in competition with them, roads blocked and people unable to make it to work, cars and private property smashed and businesses looted.

An acquaintance of mine was reduced to tears, crying uncontrollably for days the last time these taxi gremlins went on a rampage. They broke into his laundry cleaning shop, stole whatever they could and then smashed every one of his expensive washing machines, dryers, irons and whatever else was there that they couldn't carry. And who do you think paid for that? He did and we are, in increased insurance costs and resultant service delivery costs and in fear!

And that's them at the worst of times! What about in the best of times? Ask anyone in any city or town in South Africa who the worst drivers are and they will all tell you, without a milliseconds hesitation that it's the taxi drivers. They slip in and out of lanes, push other drivers off the road, skip robots, drive as fast as they can without regard for speed limits or the safety of their passengers or other road users, stop when and where they please, mostly without indicating their intent to do so and in doing these things, causing many accidents and road deaths.

Are these the actions of people who have the interest of fellow citizens at heart? Then how can they be trusted with the lives of guests if they can't even tend to their brothers and sisters?Are these the actions of responsible businessmen and woman or of good citizens? Then how can they be trusted with very valuable and much needed foreign investment?

So we the people say no to them. And to the government we say: do not give in to them and do not give them the business they are killing for. It's time for the nations voice to ring out in the halls of government and for those people charged with the safe keeping of our children to stand up and add their voice; and to exert the power at their disposal to stamp out this killing, thievery and thuggery! Once and for all.

Read More