Taxi association dispute routes

The aggravated Barberton Taxi Association (BTA) barricaded the intersection on the R40 that leads to Badplaas, town and Mbombela on Wednesday January 18.Members parked their vehicles and burned tyres on the road.

They want to be in charge of transporting passengers from town to Mbombela and Badplaas, and back to Barberton without the assistance of Nelspruit Taxi Association (NTA). One of the major issues raised is what they call “return”.

 

Members want to transport passengers to Mbombela and return with other passengers from the city.The police shot rubber bullets at the protesters and employed tear gas to disperse them.

The drivers ran off, abandoning their vehicles on the road. They returned and eventually cleared the road, after negotiations with the police.

According to the taxi drivers, they had previously raised their issues with the executive mayor of the City of Mbombela Local Municipality (CMLM) and had had several meetings with him. They alleged that they had only received empty promises.

“We want our platform back. It was promised to us because the NTA taxis only drop our passengers off at the main road.

“They do not enter the locations which leaves people stranded and for those who travel at night, it is not safe.

“Some passengers end up using another local taxi which means they pay more money because they fear for their safety. “Giving us our platform will also benefit our community.”

After the road was cleared, a meeting was held between BTA, with the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport (DPWRT), CMLM, and the Mpumalanga South Africa National Taxi Council (MSANTC).

The first meeting was in the town’s municipal buildings, and later moved to Mbombela on Wednesday. The second one was held on Thursday at the Barberton Town Hall where stakeholders agreed on a way forward.

During the second day the issues that led to the strike were set aside for the next two weeks.

The newspaper was requested to leave as it was a closed meeting, “to allow all stakeholders to feel free to express themselves”.

“We have discovered that the routes are not in line with the current law,” said MSANTC’s Mohammed Matola. “During this 14-day period the taxi drivers will return to work, after which they will have a report-back meeting.

“A task team was chosen to facilitate the matter; their responsibilities include meeting the other taxi association and all the stakeholders involved.”

CMLM spokesman, Joseph Ngala admitted that gatherings between the taxi associations and other stakeholders had taken place in the past. “For the past two years we have been meeting with the association. We were aware that BTA had disputes with NTA. The two associations belong to one municipality now, and we had hoped that they would work together.”

According to Ngala, the recent meetings were to discuss the issues that led to the protest and to come up with solutions.

“We have set aside time and we will meet again to discuss what we have been working on. Since BTA wants changes to their routes, they need to approach the registry which deals with allocating them for the taxis.

“They need to inform the registry what they want and then it will be able to check if it is possible and how it can be done,” he said. “We have many platforms that we have provided for them to raise problems without taking to the public roads to protest. As the municipality, we feel it was not necessary for the taxi associations to take their issues to the streets.

“The method they used infringed on other people’s rights, because some of them could not go to work or reach the other destinations they were going to. During the meeting, we also informed them that next time they should use the provided platforms and not take their issues to the streets,” he concluded.

According to DPWRT’s David Nkambule, all parties have now agreed on a road map and a small working group has been established among all affected parties to iron out issues.

“It was agreed that normal taxi operations are to resume with immediate effect. The department appeals to all operators and associations alike to desist from preventing or disrupting the free flow of traffic as a form of airing out their grievances. Operators are encouraged to prioritise the interests and safety of commuters at all times.”

The venue for the next meeting has not yet been established, although the relevant stakeholders will be informed.