Taxi ‘chaos’ in CBD

They have even gone as far as signing a petition against the taxis that currently “rule” the Benoni CBD and suburbs.

The petition has over 100 signatures from Benoni residents.

“Taxi drivers have no respect for the rules of the road, other motorists and their passengers,” said an angry Benoni resident, who wants to remain anonymous for fear of being victimised.

She added that motorists have to constantly slam on their breaks and swerve out of the way of taxi drivers, who stop in the middle of the road: “Voortrekker Street has been chaotic for the past year, it is almost impossible to cross over the street as the taxis block off every lane.”

Another resident added that taxi drivers show no mercy for other drivers and pedestrians; they cross over red lights; they swear and threaten other motorists and stop when they feel like it.

“This chaos has also cost us, as business owners, a number of good customers; we have been told that the taxi problem is the reason they no longer purchase in Benoni,” added the resident.

A number of the complainants accused the EMPD and the SAPS of being scared of the taxi drivers, because they usually drive past taxi drivers who are breaking the law.

Benoni Taxi Association (BTA) public relations officer Michael Rambau condemned the current actions of taxi drivers

“We, as the BTA, usually have operations where we prohibit taxi drivers from stopping anywhere they want,” he said.

“The last time we had one these operations was on November 4.”

Rambau added that the commuters also contribute to this problem, because they do not want to board taxis at the rank and this forces the drivers to not obey the rules of the road.

“We, as the BTA, urge the public to report taxi drivers who are not obeying the rules of the road to the EMPD, so they can perform their duty,” he concluded.

According to Vusi Mabanga, EMPD spokesperson, the precinct commander is aware of the complaint and they will treat it with the urgency it deserves.

Mabanga added that the EMPD usually teams up with the SAPS and conducts operations around the areas in question.

“The most recent operation was conducted on the morning of November 11, when a total of 19 summonses were issued against the wrongdoers on Voortrekker Street,” he said.

“It is unfortunate that officers cannot always be in a certain place, due to the outskirts of the area that needs to be covered by our on duty officers.”

EMPD precinct manager Supt Jacques Voster added that the EMPD conducts a number of law enforcement operations, but not as many as they would like, because they are currently understaffed.

He also stressed that the EMPD is not scared of the taxi drivers, hence they conduct these operations.

“This complaint will still be attended to and we are requesting the assistance of the Benoni Taxi Association to address this complaint,” concluded Voster.

“The Benoni Chamber of Commerce has received a number of complaints from various businesses regarding the taxis in CBD.

“We have had complaints about the hooting and about taxis blocking off entrances to the businesses, which discourages customers and, as a result, businesses lose out on money,” said Benoni Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Mohammad Essop

Essop stressed that the chamber is not against any association or driver; they are just stressing the need for regulations and law enforcement.

He added that the blame should not only be put on the taxi drivers, as commuters are also at fault, because they stop the taxis in the middle of the road.

“We advise the metro and the EMPD to zone various sections in the CBD and to reserve them for taxis to stop and collect members of the public,” concluded Essop.