The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) has partnered with Time Energy for a pilot project to bring mobile fuel to West Rand taxi ranks.

The project was launched at the Randfontein Taxi Rank on Saturday, 6 March. Monwabisi Va, spokesperson for Time Energy said they got the idea after noticing that the taxi industry was being neglected, and they felt they had an obligation to give a helping hand.

The idea was to supply fuel at the taxi ranks – bringing our services closer to various taxi ranks in the West Rand region,” Va added.

He said at this stage Westonaria, Carletonville, Krugersdorp and Randfontein taxi ranks will benefit until the project is expanded to other parts of the province, or ultimately the country.

He added that the industry not only stands to benefit from fuel being brought to the taxi ranks, but they will also be given undisclosed monthly discounts for every litre of fuel put into each taxi.

“The idea is to put more money back into the pockets of the taxi owners and their employees.

We hope that it will also help those who rely on public transport regularly. If owners invested in newer vehicles or better maintenance plans for their taxis, this in turn will improve the overall service offered by the industry,” Va said.

Alfred Masiu, Chairman of the business unit of SANTACO West Rand region, who welcomed the project said the whole industry will benefit from the monthly rebates.

“Based on the research we’ve conducted, we’ve seen that those in the industry stand a good chance to make an extra income without putting in capital, because we have the buying power. Everybody benefits – from the driver to the industry as a whole,” he said.