No brakes for taxi industry

A woman was injured earlier this week, when she jumped out of a moving taxi.
Ms Nomlaywa Skosana jumped out of the moving taxi when she realised the taxi did not have any brakes.
The taxi driver, Mr Xoliso Mahlangu stood one side, shaking his head in disbelief.

“As I drove down Mandela Street I realised the taxi does not have brakes. The only thing I could do was turn right into Bethal Street to avoid a collision,” he said.

As spectators gathered on the scene on Tuesday, October 6 they spoke out loud against the unruly behaviour of some taxi drivers and the condition some of the taxis are in.

“Our lives are in your hands,” Ms Poppy Mnisi said. She clutched to her handbag and said it was the most terrifying moment she ever experienced when the taxi driver tried to apply brakes.
“We do not have an alternative, we have to make use of taxis as this is our only transport,” she said.

A resident and frequent road user, Mr Clive Hatch has been trying to create awareness about taxis and the way some drivers drive.

On Tuesday, September 29 he took three photos of incidents involving taxis at Saveways Centre.

“A bakkie, not a taxi, stopped in the middle of the bottom entrance exit to Saveways at 10:25 while a passenger climbed out of the vehicle. At 10:37 two taxis parked in the same entrance/exit as I was leaving. I was only able to photograph the number plate of one taxi. However they made it impossible to see if there was any traffic coming down the road. Once again no law enforcement officer in sight however as I arrived at Nedbank a Traffic Control motor car was driving out, but I was unable to get its registration number,” Hatch said.

He has on several occasions raised the taxi problem with the Acting Municipal Manager, Mr Theo van Vuuren.
Hatch previously sent photos to Van Vuuren upon which he responded, “I have referred the new photos for investigation. The concerning part is that all the cases you referred last time were found to have falsified number plates. We have a serious problem with crime in our city.”

“I am most concerned that all the photos I previously sent were found to have falsified number plates,” Hatch said.

He said if this is the case based on a very basic statistical analysis, if all the cases he reported, by its very nature a totally random sample, it would indicate that the majority of the taxis driving in eMalahleni have false number plates which is indeed a very serious indictment of the law enforcement.

“Considering the recent court case in Gauteng where a car driver caught with false number plates was fined R20 000 for fraud, I believe the municipality should devote every effort to rectifying this unacceptable situation. Perhaps there should be a campaign such as Operation Fiela.
“Imagine the revenue that could be raised by eliminating these ‘illegal’ vehicles that could be spent on fixing up potholes, marking roads and replacing missing or faded road signs,” Hatch said.

Hatch saw a law enforcement officer at a local bank.

“The law enforcement officer was being attended to at the counter. I took my place in the queue and was served about 40 minutes later. It would therefore appear that an official employed at the cost of the ratepayers to enforce laws was using a municipal vehicle during working hours to do private business.”

Attempts to speak to the Local Taxi Association (LOTA) were all in vain. Their office number doesn’t exist anymore.