The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) is planning to solve the problems that many taxi drivers on the West Rand are facing.
Mahlomola Ratsoeu, chairperson of the West Rand regional branch of Santaco, said they are concerned about the safety and health of taxi drivers.
Mahlomola and the rest of the council members conducted a road safety campaign for taxi drivers during December and the beginning of January. Their aim was to make the roads safer for taxis as well as other vehicles and pedestrians on the road.
“There are a lot of stereotypes about taxi drivers such as overloading minibuses and bad driving but what most people don’t understand is that these drivers are working hard to make an honest living. Yes, they do overload the mini-buses sometimes but that is because children don’t pay taxi fares so drivers don’t count them as a passenger because they will not make a profit,” Mahlomola said.
“We are encouraging taxi drivers to load as few children as possible at a time to control overloading of taxis on the West Rand. This will also mean less injured passengers in case of an accident.”
Another problem that the local taxi council plans to overcome this year is driver fatigue.
“Accidents and bad driving happen when drivers are overworked and tired. We encourage them to go to clinics regularly and to make sure they are healthy enough to drive long distances. Taxi drivers should make it a priority to take care of themselves,” he said.
Mahlomola said that although there were many accidents over the festive season, the number of road fatalities decreased. The local taxi council handed out energy drinks and snacks to drivers and passengers at roadblocks to keep them awake on the road. According to Mahlomola, they are also planning to get insurance to protect the interests of taxi drivers and owners.
“The insurance for taxis will be one of our top priorities for 2019,” he said.
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