Gauteng transport MEC to close taxi ranks for six months

The Gauteng transport department intends to close taxi ranks for six months amid escalating violence that has claimed 59 lives in the province since January, MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela has anounced.

According to the MEC, approximately 30 people died in taxi-related violence in March alone, contributing to the alarming total of 59 fatalities since the beginning of the year.

The MEC emphasised that the violence is not isolated to specific areas but is spread across Gauteng.

She said the department of transport was collaborating with the police to “ensure that those responsible for these heinous acts are identified, apprehended and brought to justice”.

“We remain committed to restoring calm and ensuring that Gauteng’s transport system remains safe, reliable and free from intimidation or violence,” said Diale-Tlabela.

On Wednesday, Diale-Tlabela revealed that the decision comes after multiple failed attempts to resolve ongoing conflicts within the taxi industry.

“The agreement we have is to close the ranks. Not only for a week or two weeks but for six months and make sure that we come to the end of this,” she said during an interview with Newzroom Afrika.

Violence beyond taxi route disputes

While taxi operators often cite route disputes and permit duplication as reasons for conflict, Diale-Tlabela suggested the violence stems from deeper issues.

“This we have on good authority. They kill each other because of power, they kill each other because of imali [money],” she stated.

The MEC elaborated on the phenomenon known as “imali ye bucket,” where money is collected from taxi operators allegedly to fund protection squads that are then implicated in violence against rivals.

“Imali ye bucket funds a lifestyle… these are people who move around with around 30 security guards, more than the president has. When you meet them there’ll be guns everywhere, people, bodyguards and everything else,” she said.

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Women in the taxi industry consulted

The department has consulted women in the taxi industry, many of whom entered the business after their husbands were killed in taxi violence.

Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela today hosted an inaugural stakeholder engagement meeting with Gauteng Women in Public Transport at the Departmental Tshwane Regional offices.

The purpose of the engagement was to review and map the Department’s planned… pic.twitter.com/VG68J513BW

— GP Roads and Transport (@GPDRT_) April 9, 2025

“We met the women who are in the industry forced by these killings, not that it was their choice to participate in the business. They are participating because their husbands were killed,” Diale-Tlabela said.

“It was very an emotional meeting where we all cried and where we said enough is enough.”

According to the MEC, these women support the six-month closure despite the financial hardship it will cause them.

“Unanimously there’s agreement they know they’re going to suffer for six months, but they say it’s better to suffer for six months and get a permanent solution to this challenge and get to the bottom of the issues,” she said.

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Consultation process underway

The MEC said the department is following legal procedures required by the National Land Transport Act (NLTA) before implementing the closure.

“What the Act allows us to is to pronounce the intention, and after you pronounce the intention then you engage in consultations with the affected parties which are the associations themselves,” she said.

Diale-Tlabela indicated that consultations with provincial and regional leadership would begin immediately, with technical and legal teams starting the process of instituting Section 91 of the NLTA.

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Alternative transport options

The MEC assured the public that alternative transport will be available during any potential closures.

“The e-hailers are there, the bus operators are there, there’s a whole lot of young women and young men who are willing to provide public transport services to people of Gauteng,” she said.

Diale-Tlabela expressed frustration with the lack of arrests despite the high number of killings.

“What is surprising to us is that no one gets arrested. The killings are continuing and no one gets arrested,” she said, adding that the department plans to consult with law enforcement agencies about this.

She also cited allegations that security personnel hired by taxi associations are involved in the violence: “There’s an allegation that the very same security staff are the ones that kill people on the ground.”

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Prayer session against taxi violence planned

The Gauteng department of transport hosted a press conference and prayer session in Soweto near Dube hostel at 10am on Thursday.

The MEC emphasised that safety remains the top priority.

“The safety of commuters and transport workers remains our top priority. It is the sons and daughters who are left fatherless, families left destitute with no source of income and it is the women who now face a new chapter of life of being widows. Violence has no place on our roads, these killings have to stop.”

The MEC sent a stern warning to the taxi industry: “They must be careful. They might not even come back.”

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