Voortrekker Street, in Benoni, has been in a constant state of chaos for the past year,
with the taxis taking over the road.
It is almost impossible to cross over Voortrekker Street, as the taxis block every lane.
This is disgusting.
As business owners in Benoni this chaos has cost us some very good customers, who have told us that this is the reason they no longer make purchases in Benoni.
Apart from all these taxis being intimidating and scary to non-taxi drivers, they also drive recklessly, with absolutely no regard for other road-users.
The worst part of this is that the Metro Police, who “patrol” up and down Benoni, are either too lazy or too scared to do anything about these taxis, who are breaking the law in obvious view of the Metro Police. They even stand and have conversations with the taxi drivers while they are illegally parked.
These people are supposed to protect us from dangerous traffic violations, yet they drive on by like they saw nothing. Despicable.
Benoni used to be a pleasant town to live and work in. Not anymore. The taxi drivers are making Benoni ungovernable and we, as business owners, are suffering the consequences in the diminishing trade we experience.
We as road-users in Benoni try as hard as we can to avoid Voortrekker Street, but most of the time this is not an option.
We, as LEGAL road-users, have the right to governable, SAFE roads and streets; we pay our licences and our traffic fines and abide by the road laws.
Why are these taxi drivers exempt from this?
Why can we not travel down Voortrekker Street without having to slam on brakes for a taxi driver who just stops in the middle of the road to pick up a passenger?
Why do we have to swerve out of the way for a taxi which just pulls in front of you?
Why do we, as road-users have to fear for our lives and cars and valuable as we travel down one of Benoni’s main streets?
Maybe we should stop paying all our taxes and fines and licences, so that the Metro Police can catch a wake up and start doing what they are supposed to be doing?
But would that not make us exactly like all those taxis that have no respect for the law or the lives of other road-users, and let’s not forget their poor passengers.
On a Friday afternoon, especially for those of us working close to Voortrekker Street, the
taxis and their excessive hooting drive us crazy and give us headaches — so much so, that we cannot think straight.
We demand of the Benoni Traffic Department to start pulling up their socks and getting Benoni’s roads and streets back under control.
We would like to drive down a one-way without being taken out by a taxi speeding down the wrong way in a one-way.
We demand that the Benoni Traffic Department go back to basics and have designated collection and drop off depots at the top of town and the bottom of town, and that all collections and drop offs happen there, and not in the middle of the road.
This would be the first step in getting Benoni’s roads governable and safe again.
