Taxi havoc
BORDEAUX NORTH – Taxis a law unto their own and a thorn in suburb’s side.
The illegal taxi rank on the corner of Maxwell Road and Bordeaux Drive in Bordeaux North, opposite the Randburg taxi rank, is a ticking time bomb, and irate residents in the suburb may cause it to explode soon.
The Bordeaux North Resident’s Association (BNRA) have been fighting against the illegal taxi rank for years, but the taxis just keep coming and property prices have dropped tremendously in recent years because people fear living so close to the rank.
“Metro Police regularly receive complaints from Bordeaux North residents regarding the mess left behind by hawkers who sell food to the illegally parked taxis,” began Shanaaz Bailey, chairperson of the BNRA.
“The hawkers are here because of the taxis, and the whole operation is illegal. With the taxis and the hawkers, also come the mechanics working on the taxis. They let oil from the vehicles simply drain on the street and it is considered a serious safety risk by the residents.”
The Northern Taxi Licence Committee (NTLC), who regulates taxis from within Randburg taxi rank, are just as annoyed by the illegal rank. Jacob Ngoma, delegate to NTLC, stated that even though they attempt to regulate all taxis in the Randburg area, “some simply refuse to toe the line.”
“The reason they park outside of the rank is because they want to interfere with the commuters coming to the rank,” stated Ngoma. He explained that these illegal taxis attempt to steal business from the taxis that do try to adhere to NTLC regulations.
Ward 102 councillor David Potter shared his thoughts on the matter by saying that the current rank is too small to accommodate the high influx of taxis that use Randburg as a commuting hub to the rest of the city of Johannesburg.
“The current rank was built with no consideration for the huge development of the area,” stated Potter. “I am in discussion with the City of Johannesburg to determine what expansion plans, if any, there are for Randburg taxi rank.”
Potter further states that Metro Police have been asked to intervene in the matter regularly in future. “The issue is that the Metro Police have limited resources which need to be spread across the ward, hence they cannot only be tasked for this matter.”
Details: BNRA chairperson Shanaaz Bailey chairperson@bncf.co.za
