Taxi strike to hit thousands of pupils today

THOUSANDS of pupils who rely on government-funded scholar transport will be stranded this morning after taxi operators announced on Friday they would not provide transport.

The operators made the decision because they had not been paid.

Taxi bosses dropped the bombshell while staging a sit-in at the transport department’s Vincent offices where talks between taxi associations and the Eastern Cape transport department collapsed.

The department of transport could not be contacted for comment on the matter, but during a transport portfolio committee meeting at the Bhisho Legislature, transport MEC Weziwe Tikana said payment problems were caused by a shortfall in budget from the National Treasury as they were currently working on a limited budget of R10-million.

A total of 1 850 taxi operators in districts such as Amathole Joe Gqabi, Chris Hani, O R Tambo and Sarah Baartman are said to be owed millions of rands for ferrying 77 237 pupils.

Rural and farm schools are expected strike.

More than 20 taxi bosses from different associations attended the Vincent meeting led by South African National Taxi Association (Santaco) president Noluntu Mahashe, Uncedo Services president Ntsikelelo Gayler and Border Alliance Taxi Association president Vuyani Mshiywa.

The taxi bosses told the Daily Dispatch yesterday that some of their members were owed close to R500 000 each.

Speaking on behalf of the forum, Gayler said they were taken for a to be hit hardest by the ride because they were not getting the benefits promised in a tender advert.

“The money also comes in dribs and drabs with no date or time for the payment. It is no longer profitable ferrying pupils ever since the [department of transport] took over from the education department.”

Schools in Amathole district municipality will be most affected by the shutdown as 21 753 pupils are ferried every day by 600 taxi operators while in O R Tambo more than 300 taxi operators ferry 10 348 pupils, mostly from rural areas. —