Controversy over taxi transport: Scholars forced out in Umtentweni?
According to local taxi associations, they don't all have exactly the same rules of operating, but do have in common the issue of scholar transport - and who should and shouldn't be doing it.
Taxis were allegedly spotted ‘forcing’ learners out of scholar transport (vans) into their vehicles on at least three occasions in Umtentweni recently.
Mtwalume Taxi Association is believed to have stopped these vans, but its chairperson Bhekumuzi Gumede disputed it.
“Umtentweni is out of our area, if we were stopping vans we would do it within our area, even before they leave Mtwalume.”
Gumede said that his association’s relationship with scholar transport in Mtwalume is very transparent.
Several parents from Mtwalume said they had not heard of these incidents, but if it were to happen, they would have to find safer transport for their children. Also, they hope before it becomes problematic, the scholar transport owners sort it out.
Meanwhile Khangelani Caluza, the deputy secretary of the South African Taxi Council (Santaco) in the Ugu region, said that government has always made it clear that bakkies should not be used to transport people.
“If associations, led by their chairpersons, decide to stop bakkies from carrying people there is nothing wrong with that,” he said.
Caluza said Santaco had not heard of any reports of acts of violence or anything that should cause the public worry or concern.
According to local taxi associations, they don’t all have exactly the same rules of operating, but do have in common the issue of scholar transport – and who should and shouldn’t be doing it.
Some associations said they had informed people using bakkies to transport children to instead buy a minibus to do so.
“In our association we have made arrangements that by next year we will not allow scholars to be transported in bakkies. We have a rule that high school children should use taxis to get to school. If they do not do this we will have to take action,” said one member of a taxi association.
Another member of a different association said that they will soon also start stopping bakkies and offloading the passengers into taxis.
“It is within the Department of Transport’s rules that only taxis are allowed to transport people, and not people using bakkies. Some of these scholar transport owners no longer report to the various or respective associations and when we ask questions we do not get answers. Therefore, we have to start acting.”
However, Ray Nkonyeni Municipality spokesperson Simon April said that by law only authorised law enforcement officers are allowed to stop vehicles.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
