Ongoing taxi dispute turns violent

In the latest incident, a driver’s vehicle was taken by force and impounded by the local taxi association.

E-hailing taxi drivers make use of services such as Uber, Bolt or InDriver. Customers download the specific application on their phones, which is then used to order a taxi.

Metered taxi drivers, on the other hand, normally wait at designated spots and transport passengers on pre-determined routes. Theoretically, they serve different markets, but this is not always perceived as such by taxi associations.

The e-hailing driver connected to the latest incident, who operates under the Bolt service, told Kathorus MAIL it occurred around 4pm on February 27 at the entrance to the Chris Hani Shopping Mall in Vosloorus.

The driver, who fears for his safety and thus wants to remain anonymous, said he was about to enter the mall complex when he was forced off the road, bringing his vehicle to a stop.

He said he was threatened with violence when he refused to roll down his windows and open the doors for the attackers, who forced his two passengers out of the vehicle.

“Two men armed with pistols started tapping on the driver’s side of the window, demanding that I open the door. They demanded that I drive to their office from where I was to phone my boss and ask him to send me an amount of R6 000 as a penalty for operating a Bolt taxi in an un-prescribed area.”

The driver said he was then taken into a room where he was left with two men who made further threats to his life. He managed to escape, leaving his impounded vehicle behind.

“They took the car keys as well as my house keys, so I decided to flee, leaving everything behind,” he said.

The driver contacted the owner of the vehicle, asking him to intervene. The vehicle he used belongs to a company that finances e-hailing taxis, enabling mostly unemployed people from disadvantaged communities to operate and eventually own these vehicles.

Eckard Muller, manager at the financing company, phoned the Vosloorus Taxi Association to obtain clarity about the matter. He too was told they will have to pay an amount of R6 000 to have the vehicle released from the pound.

Muller later told Kathorus MAIL he refused to pay the “ransom” and approached the Vosloorus SAPS to lay a charge of hijacking. He said he was informed by a police officer that the police no longer dealt with taxi issues.

“I was bluntly told to go back to the taxi association and just pay the required fee and take my car and go away silently,” said Muller.

He added that he refused to be bullied and forced to pay such an exorbitant penalty when the driver had done nothing wrong.

When Muller arrived at the Vosloorus SAPS last Tuesday, he noticed the vehicle was parked at the police station. When he inquired to find out who had brought the car there, an officer told him to speak to the taxi association who might be able to reduce the penalty to between R3 000 and R1 500.

“I was determined to speak to the highest-ranking officer at the station and demand a legal justification for the car being impounded by a taxi association.

“All I wanted to do at the time was to open a charge of vehicle hijacking at the station and have the matter investigated by police,” Muller explained.

He had to leave, as the officers on duty refused to open a case.

When Muller returned to the Vosloorus Police Station last Wednesday morning, he was called to the side by someone who appeared to be a senior officer, who told him to just take his car and go.

“When I started to ask questions about how it got to where it was parked, he asked me: ‘Do you want your car or not?’. The officer, whose name I did not take, simply went into an office and returned with the car keys and my drivers house keys,” said Muller.

He then insisted on lodging a case of hijacking with the Vosloorus SAPS and filled in the necessary declarations.
The police station’s media spokesperson’, Capt Piet Rossouw, slammed the actions of both the taxi association and some of his colleagues at the police.

“It is against the law for anyone or any organisation or association to take the law into their own hands. The owner has the right to open a criminal case at the police station and report the matter to the police,” said Rossouw.

An online publication highlighted the intimidation of e-hailing taxi drivers in an article that appeared in November. The article quotes Bolt SA’s country manager, Gareth Taylor, where he said the organisation is aware of an increase in harassment and intimidation incidents.

Bolt SA has now partnered with a private security company to ensure the safety of drivers.

The article also describes the modus operandi of some of the taxi associations, especially in the Vaal Triangle area.
Approached for comment, a spokesperson for the Vosloorus and Boksburg District Taxi Association told Kathorus MAIL the association is not against e-hailing taxis operating in the town.

He, however, said they are still waiting for the executives from Uber and Bolt to return and finalise the unfinished negotiations they have failed to honour.

Next issue: The taxi association outlines its stance towards e-hailing taxis.