iLembe police commissioner, major-general Anthony Gopaul, says taxi associations have no jurisdiction to enforce public transport laws as this is strictly the responsibility of police and traffic officers.
In response to the public outcry against blatant taxi intimidation in Ballito, Gopaul told the Courier that he met with the Dolphin Coast Taxi Association DCTA last Monday on the issue of e-hailing service drivers.
He said he made it unequivocally clear that the association or its security guards had no right to threaten or intimidate anyone.
“Anyone found to be pulling over other drivers and brandishing firearms will face the full might of the law,” Gopaul said.
Should this happen, he encouraged the public to open a case at the local police station.
“The public need not to be afraid to open a case. If they have any concerns they can go directly to the station commander’s office for assistance.”
One of the Uber drivers confronted said he could not afford the R700 weekly “affiliation” fee asked by the taxi association.
With a car instalment to pay, petrol costs and having to support his family, he said it was simply not possible.
“They stopped me after I dropped off a client at one of the estates in Ballito, asking where I was from. I told them that I mostly operate at the airport and they told me to leave the area.
“I informed them I was a local resident and asked where I should go if they want me to leave. I am not going to join that list of theirs, simply because I will be limiting myself from working in other areas. Imagine taking a trip to Durban and then having to return empty, that will be a significant loss,” said the driver.
Taxi association spokesperson Siyabonga Ntombela confirmed the efforts to control the number of e-hailing drivers and to exclude non-local or drivers not affiliated with offical e-hailing apps, but denied members were involved in any assaults or impounding vehicles.
“We have a list of local e-hailing drivers, and their vehicles have stickers. Non-local drivers can drop off passengers, but only our local drivers can do pick-ups provided there is an app request. We are working with a security company to keep illegal drivers away from our area. I believe they are the ones complaining,” said Ntombela.
But e-hailing are not the only targets.
The car, owned by a Ballito resident, was being driven by a KwaDukuza man hired to transport children in Ballito and Umhlali.
It was allegedly forced, under taxi security escort, to the DCTA offices.
Association member Johnson Govender confirmed the incident but denied any vehicle impoundments or payment demands.
“Security escorted the driver to the association’s offices in Shakaskraal to explain himself,” said Govender. “He said he was transporting scholars, so we told him that school transport falls under the association’s jurisdiction and he should get a sticker. There is a fee for the paperwork to become affiliated, but the person I spoke to on the phone was rude and called us criminals, so I ended the call.”
He said any payment to the association must be documented with a receipt bearing the association’s stamp or letterhead. Without this, the association denies any involvement.
However the Courier has seen a receipt clearly marked ‘fine’ issued to the driver on the same day for the amount of R2000. There is no stamp or letterhead.
According to Govender, school transport vehicles must have stickers indicating their association with specific taxi routes. However, the Scholar Transport Programme is run by the Education Department and permits are issued by the Transport Department and not taxi associations. No comment was received from the Transport Department.
Earlier this month the taxi association also publicised its intention to stop businesses privately transporting their workers in ‘vans’ – understood to mean bakkies – from July 8.
In this regard, Ntombela referred to the lack of action from law enforcement agencies.
“We cannot sit and watch our business being affected by people breaking the law while nothing is being done. Yet, when we take action, we are labelled as the bad guys taking the law into our hands.”
The North Coast Public Transport Forum has held a number of meetings to address these critical public transport issues.
As a member of the forum, the Chamber issued a comprehensive guide on the legislation governing staff transport, aiming to provide clarity on the legal framework and to ensure safe practices for employee transport. Regulation 250 of the National Road Traffic Act 93, 1996, bans the transport of paying passengers on or in the goods compartment of a goods vehicle. However, non-paying passengers are allowed to be carried in a goods vehicle.
The National Land Transport Act 5 of 2009 (NLTA) regulates the transportation of public passengers for reward.
The NLTA states that an operating license or permit is not required for the following services:
o Courtesy services when the operator operates less than the prescribed number of vehicles;
o Lift clubs (even if lift club members contribute financially to cover costs);
o Farmers carrying their own workers in vehicles of which they are the sole owners;
o Municipalities carrying their own workers in vehicles owned by them;
o Ambulances carrying patients
o The conveyance by a person who carries on any industry, trade, or business of the person’s own employees from a place where they perform work to another place where they are to perform work by means of a vehicle of which the person is the owner.
Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news.
Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here or if you’re on desktop, scan the QR code below.
-
-
-
-
