‘Not all taxi drivers are playing it safe,’ Santaco Tshwane admits

The Tshwane taxi industry has admitted that not all taxi drivers were constantly adhering to safety measures of opening windows and constant sanitisation to ensure safety to commuters.

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) Tshwane regional spokesperson Mack Makata said: “We visit our ranks unannounced sometimes and I must admit that not all of the drivers that are heeding the safety measures call as prescribed.”

Makata said this was something they were working to enforce in the Tshwane metro.

“We are working on it. From the main ranks, there’s 100% compliance as compared to informal ones,” he said.

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He said the taxi industry in Tshwane did not necessarily welcome the decision to load at 100% capacity for trips, however, the industry was very hard hit financially by lockdown regulations.

“It’s not about welcoming the permission to load 100% loading capacity, it’s about what is rightfully ours as the industry has no financial support forthcoming.

“Business has been negatively affected by the 70% loading capacity regulation, we barely keep our heads above water as financial institutions want their money,” said Makata.

He said just because the industry was loading at 100%, did not mean that the safety of drivers, marshals and commuters was not a concern.

“Of course, we are concerned about the safety of the commuters including all the stakeholders, but remember we are running a business that has been compliant throughout without any assistance from government.”

Makata also admitted that taxis could play a part in the transmission of Covid-19, however, the virus was “so scientific that it confuses everyone, one moment we are told it’s not airborne and the next moment you hear something else, so it’s matter of the fear of the unknown in most cases”.

He urged commuters to report any misconduct and non-compliance of drivers immediately.

“All we need is the registration of the vehicle and the route operated.”

Makata said commuters also had to wear a mask everywhere at taxi ranks and inside taxis.

“Also ensure you are sanitised,” he said.

This also comes as the Gauteng transport department launched taxi rank Covid-19 support committees and reporting tools to ensure compliance at Bosman Taxi Rank.

The committees in various provinces will tackle various taxi ranks nationwide.

Gauteng MEC for public transport and roads infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo said the taxi rank Covid-19 support committees were there to ensure full compliance with public transport regulations in order to curb the spread of the virus.

“The taxi ranks support committees will be tasked with, among others, the enforcement of regulations including social distancing, cleaning and disinfecting of loading bays and taxis, sanitisation of all commuters and ensuring that no one gets into a taxi without a mask.”

This article first appeared on Rekord East and was republished with permission.