POLOKWANE – The Mankweng Taxi Association is once again urging commuters to rather make use of taxis than to hitchhike following an increase in robberies from Polokwane to Mankweng.
The Chairperson of the association, Charles Sefoko says residents opt to hitchhike as opposed to using a taxi and end up being robbed and left on the side of the road.
“These vehicles usually stop at the hiking spot in Grobler Street just after Voortrekker Street and pick people up, but at times, they never make it to Mankweng,” he said.
He adds that as an association, they cannot stop anyone from hitchhiking, but it does become a problem when people report the robberies to the association. “Over the past three weeks, we have had quite a number of complaints from the hiking spots. People come to us for assistance after they were robbed of their possessions and dropped along the R71 in Dalmada.
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“Instead of going to the police, they come to us with number plates asking us to help them find the people who robbed them.”
He says most of the cars that have been found to be robbing people are mini buses with Gauteng registration numbers.
According to Sefoko, most people opt to hitchhike when they realise they do not have enough for a taxi, but he says that they should rather ask for a queue marshall and explain the situation to them as opposed to putting their lives in danger. “It all comes back to one thing because when they get robbed, they ask us to take them home when they could have just asked in the first place and got home with all their possessions.”
He says that hitchhiking also has a negative effect on their business as fewer taxis are filled, meaning some drivers aren’t able to make money, when people should be working together as the one can’t exist without the other.
Sefoko has urged residents to prefer taxis over hitchhiking and to feel free to approach them should money be a problem. “If we work together, we can find a solution that doesn’t leave people robbed.”
