Driven tears to

This is a war against us ordinary people

“THEY are killing us.”

That’s the desperate cry from public transport commuters, forced to count the cost of taxi fare increases following the big fuel price hike that came into effect on Wednesday.

For Cynthia Manqele, Nosipho Sibiya, Jabu Mdluli and Nomvula Manqele, who commute daily to Mtubatuba from various outer-lying places for work, the rise in taxi fares – and the general soaring in the cost of living – is becoming unbearable.

"They are killing us," said Sibiya, who carpools to work.

Sibiya’s carpool, which transports workers from KwaMsane to Mtubatuba town, last year cost her R300 a month, which increased to R350, and this year it was hiked by a further R50 to R400.

"We are expecting another increase, to R450," said an indignant Sibiya.

Cynthia complained about the surging prices of food while wages and salaries remain the same.

"This is a war against us ordinary people; we are not wanted here in South Africa," she said.

The four women, who travel daily to town from various areas, including Nkombose and Nkodibe, agreed that if alternative, cheaper modes of transport were available and viable, including walking, they would make use of them.

But for those of this quartet who live in KwaMsane and who could walk to town, the fear of falling victim to petty thugs puts them off.

The rocketing cost of commuting has also impacted a Mtubatuba street vendor who sells second-hand clothes which she buys in bails from Mozambique.

This street vendor, who asked not to be named, recently made the trip to Mozambique to stock up on her goods and found that these increases were also being felt in the neighbouring country.

“This time there was an additional cost for baggage, which was not there previously. “We had to pay R40 for a bag,” she said.

On her recent travels, she also learned of a R10 increment to travel from the Mozambican border to Maputo, taking the price to R80.

To get to Mozambique, she must first catch a taxi to Manguzi, which has increased by R20.

“In the end, this hurts my pocket. Also, the rand across the border is not as strong as before. For R1 000 you used to get

4 500 Mozambican Meticals but now it’s R4 050. The price of the stock has also gone up,” she said.

Increasing her mark-up, however, is not an option because “there is no money; I have to make do with whatever I get,’ “the despondent vendor said.

She said she sometimes stocks up in Durban. From Mtubatuba, the taxi fare has gone up by around R20, while a trip to Johannesburg, another place she frequents to procure goods, now costs R380, up from R360.

She said the price of couriering goods via taxis has also gone up, even for hand-held items which has doubled, from R50 to R100.

Using professional courier services as an alternative, she said, was just as pricey if not more costly.

For this vendor, her daily trips from Phaphasi to Mtuba town have also increased, from R15 per trip last year to R17.