Denial as JMPD probe illegal taxi rank
Taxi drivers test the law as an illegal taxi rank pops up in Suideroord without warning.
SUIDEROORD – The name of the game is denial, as JMPD attempts to get to the bottom of the operation that seems to be taking place illegally in full view, disregarding residents who do not approve.
“We seem to have an illegal taxi rank starting on the corner of Potgieter and Columbine Avenue, Suideroord. We have been getting complaints from residents; patrollers went past there this morning and took a photo of the drivers and their taxis plus vehicles standing on this land. We have sent it on to law enforcers to deal with and patiently await feedback,” said the Mondeor CPF.
Taxi drivers have been spotted daily, gathered in Suideroord opposite MacDonalds since February 7, after Mondeor Community Policing Forum questioned their presence on the open land. The taxi drivers have repeatedly denied allegations of an illegal taxi rank in operation.
On February 18, Mondeor CPF reported that Johannesburg Metro Police had been to the open land to investigate allegations of an illegal taxi rank. “JMPD have been out there three times and asked taxi drivers to please move, but they don’t seem to be listening to JMPD.”
When The CHRONICLE reporter approached the group of men sitting in one of the taxis in the same spot on February 19, pretending to enquire about the destinations to which the taxis take commuters.
One of the men calling himself baba Nkosi clarified in Zulu (translated in English): “This is not a taxi rank, my dear, we don’t shuttle commuters. All these taxis here operate as transport for children from various schools around the area; we are just waiting for the pickup time.”
It is unknown whether the man was accommodating the reporter because he did not know her profession or if the group really use the location as a waiting spot before picking up school children after school.
On November 4 last year, JMPD undertook a major Operation Clean-Up with the main aim to make Johannesburg safer and cleaner by eradicating illegal taxi ranks. Hundreds of taxis were impounded, yet it seems there are still a few who want to test the law.
A progress report on the matter will follow from Mondeor CPF and JMPD although, without a permit, the taxi drivers have no legal leg to stand on or right to keep occupying the open land.
