BRT comes to Tembisa
Members of the Tembisa Local Taxi Association (Telta) congratulated the association's executive committee for leading the association in the right direction for the past 12 months.
Addressing the special general meeting held at Rabasotho Hall on Thursday last week, Telta’s deputy, Alfred Sithole, says today’s government has its own way of doing things.
“We were not part and parcel of those who decided about the implementation of the BRT. We were invited only to be told how it should be implemented,” he said. He added that their taxis will be used as feeder transport to the BRT system.
It was clear from the start that taxi owners were unhappy about the BRT system, but have had no chance as it was a decision taken from above. Many asked the executive to elaborate on how they are going to sustain their business in the face of the BRT, but there was no clear answer.
The chairman of Telta, Aubrey Tshabalala, says the government will start preparing the BRT special lanes in February next year, and it is expected the first phase will be completed in October.
“The buses are expected to start from Hospital View, go via Rabasotho, Birch Acres Mall, Kempton Park to Vosloorus. They are not going to use routes like straight-line, so the taxis will take people from other routes to the buses,” he said.
As the petrol price is always increasing, the association will increasetaxi fare from the 30th of this month.
The price will increase by R1, which means the taxi fare for all local taxis will be R8, but will be R8.50 to Phomolong.
