Taxi drivers may not charge for ‘empty seats’
Workers who have to commute to work by means of taxis, in some instances have to cough up more for the ‘privilege’ to be transported as essential services workers.
All commuter transport, including rail, passenger bus, taxi, e-hailing, maritime and air transport except services for purposes of rendering essential services, obtaining essential goods and transporting people rendering essential services, seeking medical attention or collecting grant money, are prohibited by lockdown regulations.
These regulations, according to the South African Taxi Council (Santaco) has left only 10% of taxis on the road, operating. Many drivers, due to severe measures restricting taxis to carrying no more than 50% of its passenger carrying capacity, do not think it’s worth their while to keep operating in the following weeks, saying their profit margins will be severely compromised.
Other taxi owners and drivers are refusing to let the empty seat bother them: people need transport to get to essential services workplaces, and they let them pay for it.
Some workers have reported a sudden hike in their taxi fares, with the majority saying that drivers are trying to make up the deficit
Other restrictions include that taxis may only operate during certain peak hours daily:
Minibus taxis transporting essential services workers and those allowed to make the necessary permitted movements are only allowed to operate from 05:00 to 09:00 and again from 16:00 to 20:00. This makes it difficult for commuters relying on taxis to transport them for purposes other than work, e.g. having to visit a doctor.
Taxi owners and drivers are also expected to:
- put measures in place to adhere to social distancing in order to curb the spread of the Corona virus; and
- sanitise minibus-taxis after every trip. Sanitizers used in all taxi vehicles must have a minimum of 60% alcohol content.
- All taxi ranks must also be sanitised at regular intervals, by regulation. A vehicle licensed to carry up to eight passengers will only be permitted to load a maximum of three passengers, to not exceed the 50% carrying rule.
- All cross-border road passenger movement will be prohibited for the duration of the lockdown.
Taxis that have been financed by the National Taxi Finance administered by the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa) will be granted a three-month repayment holiday.
In recent days, traffic officers and police had to remove commuters from taxis that did not comply with this rule. Many taxi owners claim not have been informed about the new regulations required to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.
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