Soaring taxi fares a headache for commuters

An increase in taxi fares has many cash-strapped Nelson Mandela Bay residents worried about how they will pay the higher transport costs.

The fares were raised on Wednesday following a string of petrol price hikes.

The SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) said earlier this week that taxi fares would go up between R1 and R10 for local trips and R1 and R20 for long-distance journeys.

Bay student Alatha Madyaka, 22, of Booysen Park, spends more than R1,000 a month on transport and is worried that his part-time earnings will not cover the increase.

“I go to campus from Booysen Park five times a week and I work at weekends as well,” Madyaka said.

“If I were to take alternative transport, I would save only 50c a trip and the times do not coincide with my classes.”

Xola Baphethi, 27, of Zwide, said transport was his biggest expense already and he could not afford to spend more.

“I have two kids, but I do not spend as much money on them as I do on transport,” Baphethi said.

His transport costs were R700 a month before the fares went up.

“Even my groceries are cheaper than what I spend on taxis,” he said.

Santaco’s management council, its highest decisionmaking body‚ decided at a special meeting to raise the fares.

“For the January 2017 to January 2018 period alone, the petrol price increased 130%,” Santaco said.

Uber also raised its fares, from Tuesday, with the minimum fare for the UberX ride up from R20 to R25 and the Port Elizabeth uberGO minimum rising from R17 to R20.