Not all benefit from petrol drop
JOBURG - While motorists have found that a few pennies now go a little further thanks to the petrol price decrease, commuters using taxies can’t say the same.
The National Taxi Association said there would not be a reduction of taxi fares. Chief strategic manager for the taxi organisation, Bafana Magagula explained that a reduction of fuel prices was like a drop in the ocean in terms of their expenditures. He gave the example of a Kombi which cost R280 000 a year ago, would now cost R340 000. “A R1 reduction in petrol per litre doesn’t come any closer to covering that,” he said.
While I can understand the association’s reluctance to reduce their fares, my heart goes out to the many commuters who breathed an initial sigh of relief when they heard about the petrol reduction.
January is, for the most part, a tough month for most Joburg residents. We get paid early in December, but have to wait for the end of January before seeing our next pay cheque. So, little things such as petrol price drops and taxi fare reductions make January just a little easier to get through.
The Automobile Association said it expected fuel prices to decrease even further, but I think this will not sway the taxi association to reduce its fares. So only taxi drivers and motorists will have a few more pennies in their pockets, while the taxi commuters have to keep coughing up.
Maybe employers of staff who use taxis to commute to work could compensate their employees for this ‘unfairness’, but I think this is wishful thinking.
