Taxi woes for commuters
Some taxi commuters are unhappy with the price increase and bad treatment they received at the Greenstone taxi rank.
Some commuters have complained about the recent price increase, saying it is unfair because it is not the same for all routes.
“I work at Greenstone and live in Ivory Park. We used to pay R14,50 for one trip. People who stay in Tembisa used to pay R13,50 to Greenstone. Now the price for Tembisa commuters has increased to R16,” said a commuter who did not want to be named.
This means that Tembisa only had an increase of 50 cents compared to the R1,50 for Ivory Park commuters. Commuters claim before the increase took effect, a notice inside the taxis initially said that Tembisa commuters would pay R15, but that did not take effect as they now pay only R14, an increase of only 50 cents.
“I have called to complain to the Lethabong Taxi Association (LTA) and they said they would have a meeting to discuss it but nothing has come from that,” said the commuter.
The commuters have also complained about the bad treatment they receive from taxi marshals at the rank.
“A person would get to the rank at 5pm, only to get a taxi about an hour later. They have to consider our safety as we get home late when it is already dark,” said a commuter.
Some commuters feel the taxi marshals are biased towards Tembisa commuters, as they always get taxis first.
The public relations officer for the Lethabong Taxi Association (LTA), Mr John Mayisela, said the taxi fare increases could have been more.
“I think people do not understand how it works. The government said the associations can increase the prices by up to 20 percent, in line with the Transport Act. That would have meant the increase would have been R2, 80, but with our commuters in mind, we settled for R1 and R1, 50 for the two routes,” said Mr Mayisela.
He said the association had put up notices in the taxi’s informing commuters about the increases, 14 days before they came into effect.
“They had the opportunity to come and voice their concerns. Our doors are always open, when they encounter problems with drivers they must take down the registration number of the taxi. The association has disciplinary processes in place, so the concerned driver will be called into the office,” said Mr Mayisela.
