Commuters label taxis as tickets to hell

KABOKWENI – Taxi commuters who travel to Mbombela daily, vowed they would not risk their lives by using “Siyaya taxis” as they referred to them as a ticket to hell or to your grave.

Boycotting these have begun affecting them as they arrive late for work because they wait for Quantum taxis which apparently are more reliable, safer and faster.

Ms Sebenzile Matsebula said, “I am not happy about the state of the Siyayas as they are a disgrace. Sometimes doors don’t close properly, and the seats are not user-friendly, especially the back seats.

They normally load four people instead of three. At the end they expect you to pay the full fare which is totally unacceptable. I’m not going to dig my own grave,” she said.

Another commuter, Mr Welcome Malambe added, “It’s clear that they don’t care about the safety of passengers. As long as they make money, it is fine.

Speaking to this publication, the president of the South African Passengers Organisation (Sapo) in the province, Mr Veli Mathe, confirmed that it’s true that Siyaya taxis were a nightmare to commuters,

“I talk from experience. I once travelled in a taxi to town. On our way a traffic officer stopped the taxi. They discovered that a door and steering wheel were not functioning well and declared it unroadworthy,” he explained.

He said to ensure that passengers were always safe, traffic officers had to be disciplined not to take bribes,” he added.

The deputy secretary of the KaBokweni Taxi Association, Mr Vusi Mdluli said, “According to our information, all our taxis are roadworthy and drivers are well qualified.

“Another thing our people need to understand is that traffic volumes are dense. If our passengers have problems, they must visit our offices so that we can establish a good working relationship with them,” Mdluli concluded