Taxi fares increase ‘imminent’, warns Santaco
“Petrol is really expensive, our customers can barely afford to pay taxis but as drivers, we are still expected to meet our daily targets.”
Tshwane’s South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) announced that taxi fare increases are imminent as they are currently operating at a loss.
Santaco said this was due to the rising cost of fuel.
Tshwane Santaco spokesperson Salang Mcdonald Makata said they have not yet released a statement as to when and how much the taxi fares will increase.
“It was not our intention to inflate the prices, but the situation that we are facing currently calls for that.
“We have not spoken about it as Santaco, we have only hinted about it based on the petrol price increase.
“It will also be in consultation with community forums because as Santaco we are dealing with communities in our areas of operation. They will also contribute to saying how much they think we need to increase the fares.”
A commuter at Mabopane station, Gladys Mamabolo, said she was already paying a lot of money for taxi fares and any increase would cripple the community.
Mamabolo said despite a lot of community members not being fond of the train, the reality was that many of them will consider it to go to work.
“The trains are not reliable, but the reality is we cannot afford to use taxis at the current rate, any increase will affect us.
“There are rumours that a taxi to town will be increased by R5 from Soshanguve to the CBD and we will have an increase of R3 local. Where will we get this money?
“A lot of people can barely afford to put food on the table and still be able to go to work. We understand the pressure the owners are feeling but this taxi fares issue has become a national crisis that needs intervention,” she said.
One of the taxi drivers, who identified himself only as Neo, said commuters are already struggling to pay the current prices and if there is an increase, they might lose a lot of them.
Neo, however, added it was still necessary because of the increase in petrol prices.
“Petrol is really expensive, our customers can barely afford to pay taxis but as drivers, we are still expected to meet our daily targets. Taxi owners have to pay instalments, so it is difficult for everyone.”
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