Taxi problems brewing at Fochville
Problems between taxi associations are now also escalating in he Fochville area.
While problems in the minibus taxi industry around Carletonville have received much attention, issues in Fochville disrupted traffic this week.
On the morning of Thursday, 1 February, members of the oldest taxi association in the Fochville area, Greater Fochville Transport Services (GFTS), blocked the entrance to Kokosi at the four-way stop at Khotsoville.
According to the organisation’s chairperson, Mr Jan Palime, they have sought the authorities’ help to secure their routes for years. Their rival is the Vuka Uzenzele Taxi Association (Vuta).
According to GFTS, they have the right to run their taxis on all the routes in and around Fochville because they are the oldest and largest organisation in the area. They accuse Vuta of operating in the area illegally.
The GFTS called off their blockade after Palime spoke to the commander of the Fochville Police Station, Lt-Col Kgomotso Netshitangani. She reportedly promised to help sort the matter out.
“For now, we will put further action on hold and see what comes of this,” Palime told the Herald.
According to Vuta’s chairperson, Mr William Manzana, his organisation does not have a permit because of administrative issues at the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.
“We are officially registered and got a permit from them in 2016, but it is supposed to be renewed every five years. We have engaged with the department since our permit expired. They acknowledged that the problem was due to a backlog on their side,” says Manzana.
He also supplied the Herald with a photograph of their 2016 permit. According to Vuta, the Fochville area is big enough for both taxi associations to operate successfully.
According to members of the taxi associations, the problems between them started worsening over the past six months because more commuters from different areas like Khotsoville needed transport.
Vuta alleges that three of their members had been assaulted and one even killed in the escalating tensions between the associations.
Both associations accuse the other’s members of sometimes driving unroadworthy vehicles and not adhering to legislation. Both also blame the Merafong City Local Municipality’s Traffic Department for not heeding their calls to assist in sorting out the problems.
The Herald asked the municipality about the issues on Tuesday, but they did not respond by the time of the newspaper going to print.
