Driver allegedly abandons commuters for meeting
“I offered alternative for the passengers so that they can proceed with their journey. They were not left stranded just that some of the passengers refused to use the transport that we offered them at that time”.
BARBERTON – Many commuters wereallegedly left stranded last Thursday whenthe local taxi association clamped down onillegal operators.
According toone commuter, Mr CalvinTsabetse, a local taxi was stopped on its way to town and the passengers were givenback their fares by the driver who claimed that he had been instructed to do so by the Barberton Taxi Association (BTA).
The chairperson of the BTA, Mr Jabulani Mkhabela refuted the allegations, but did reveal that the association faced a mammoth task of dealing with illegal taxis in the town.
“It’s not true that the taxi was stopped because it was operating illegally. All drivers were expected to attend a meeting. We requested them to be there to discuss some of the issues within the association, but only to find out that there were those who were busy operating, then we decided
to stop the taxi.
“I offered alternative for the passengers so that they can proceed with their journey. They were not left stranded just that some of the passengers refused to use the transport that we offered them at that time,” he explained.
Mkhabela indicated that the associationwas succeeding in getting rid of illegal operators, and said, “In January we got rid of six illegal operators who had been
