Where’s the law when taxi drivers block our roads?

LET’S reflect on the recent strike by the taxi industry. It was to be expected that terror would reign and the strike would turn ugly as the self-appointed gods of our roads took to the streets to protest against the lengthy processing of permits and the impounding of vehicles with pending permits. They are also demanding the use of Rea Vaya bus lanes, missing the point that this would defeat the purpose of the rapid transport infrastructure. Let’s not forget that they already use the lanes anyway, whether the law allows them to or not.

And they are angry at what they call “harassment” by the Joburg metro police during peak hours. It does not cross their minds that other motorists and commuters feel harassed by them daily.

So what happened on Monday? Nothing unusual, if you ask me. The United Taxi Association Front illegally blockaded the M1 and M2 during peak hour. The drivers marched through the city centre to hand over a memorandum to the Gauteng department of transport.

Transport MEC Ismail Vadi says he was surprised by the strike because he had held a meeting with key players a week earlier.

Not satisfied with blocking the highway when they had permission only to gather at Newtown Park, the drivers intimidated motorists who were transporting stranded commuters. They forcibly pulled passengers out and intimidated the drivers. A productive day at work was lost and many pupils who needed to get to school to sit for exams will now have to write in February.

In the midst of this chaos, all that the association’s spokesman could offer was: “We did not authorise our members to block highways or intimidate people. We have appealed to them to stop doing so.”

But they will continue doing so. What I find difficult to comprehend is why the authorities do not seem to have an emphatic and decisive response to strikes led by the taxi industry.

Just a few days after this strike, we woke up to news of another taxi feud that has claimed several lives in Mamelodi. Murder cases and hit lists are perhaps difficult to investigate and conclude speedily. But what stops the police from arresting the taxi drivers who were responsible for the chaotic strike?

Why have we not seen a tough response directed at those who consistently break the law?

The strike happened in broad daylight. The people behind the strike are known. Why is it so difficult to make them account for their actions?

The MEC is certainly talking tough. In the aftermath of the strike, he said taxi drivers needed to start

He will continue to break every rule in the book, because he can

respecting other motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.

“They want free rein of the streets, but this won’t happen. Although we accept that 55% of the workforce is transported by taxis, and we acknowledge they play a vital role in transport, their intolerance towards other road users is unacceptable,” he said. “They want a regime of lawlessness, and to be able to do what they want.”

The MEC conceded there were 5 000 applications pending, but attributed this to stakeholders waiting until the last minute to renew their operating licences. But he added: “It is not a God-given right — the issuing of permits is based on transport studies.”

I can predict how this will end. The government will talk tough for a while and issue statements of “zero tolerance”.

But the proverbial last man standing will be the taxi driver. He will continue to break every rule in the book, because he can. That “regime of lawlessness” that Vadi spoke about is, sadly, a way of life.