Taxis call for leniency as ranks built

KING William’s Town taxi drivers have called for Buffalo City Metro (BCM) law enforcement to be lenient towards them during the construction of the multimillion-rand bus and taxi project.

The R81.4-million project, which will see three taxi ranks and the main bus station being rebuilt has left taxi drivers with insufficient parking in the city and has forced them to find parking, and loading and offloading commuters in inappropriate places. This has resulted in them being issued with fines.

The project was launched in November last year and is set to be completed in 30 months.

Taxi drivers’ concerns were presented before council on March 11 by a project steering committee comprising councillors, taxi, bus and hawkers associations. Not only have taxi drivers raised concerns on insufficient parking, but they have asked BCM to consider compensation for loss of income during this time.

In a council report, acting BCM city manager Bob Naidoo stated that “engagements with taxi operations on requests would be held no later than end March 2017”.

Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, Ncedo Taxi Association chairperson in King William’s Town Mphuthumi Mjongile said that at the least BCM could help them set up a temporary loading zones identified by the taxi association until the project was completed.

“Law enforcement is yet to approve these places we have identified and we were told to keep tickets that have been issued for parking inappropriately. They may be cleared,” he said.

Mjongile added many former taxi users were hitchhiking and taxi drivers were losing income.

“Taxi associations were still going to sit down and discuss how they would like to be compensated by BCM,” he said.

BCM spokesman Sibusiso Cindi was asked if BCM was considering the appeal for leniency during the construction period but he had not responded at the time of going to press. — sisiphoz@dispatch.co.za