Taxi fare increase may follow fuel price hike

MOTORISTS are not the only ones to feel the brunt of tomorrow’s fuel price increase, as the taxi industry also mulls over a fares hike.

SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) spokesperson Thabisho Molelekwa said: “Either there is a blanket approach where we all increase or where some don’t; and this is largely as a result of communities we serve. We serve the poorest of the poor. We have associations that have not increased in five years because of community structures we deal with. We charge what can work for communities.”

He said that despite putting communities first, taxi owners also had to make a living. “Five years back there were two chaotic situations for the industry. There was the strike of petrol employees for three weeks and that meant there was little income. Then there were two consecutive increases. The past seven years have been hard for the taxi industry”

The Automobile Association said if the oil price continued to climb, South Africans should expect further pain at the pumps in the coming months.

“International petroleum prices have remained on the plateau they reached at the beginning of August, and the average rand/US dollar exchange rate has also shown little change. Petrol users will be hit the hardest, with an increase of 67 cents a litre, while diesel is set for a climb of 46 cents, and illumination paraffin almost 50 cents,” the AA said.

United Association of South Africa spokesperson Andre Venter said workers cannot cope with the increases and were burdened to the point of drowning in debt and increasing expenses.

“Our economy is weak, demand for credit is low, millions are unemployed, personal taxes are up. South Africa is in a recession,” he said. The fuel price increase would lead to higher prices of consumer goods and make it more expensive for workers to get to work and back.