The Local Taxi Association (LOTA) has stopped their operation last week because of problems having to do with the Klarinet route.According to LOTA chairperson Mr Solly Vilane the Klarinet route has been a problem for a long time now. Discussions and engagement with the local municipality and the provincial department of transport to find a soluton to the problem has been held but with no solution.
Mr Vilane said: “We registered as a local taxi association in 1994 while Witbank Taxi Transport (WTT) is registered as a long-distance taxi association. We transport commuters for the local routes while they take care of commuters travelling a long distance. There have been fights over the Klarinet route since the township was established. We later came to an agreement with WTT that we should share the route, but we encounter problems. Our drivers are being chased away and sometimes blocked from operating on the Klarinet route.”
Mr Vilane added to say that the drivers have had enough of the problems, that is the reason they have stopped their operations so that maybe some officials from the municipality can intervene to find a solution to the problem. He feels sorry for the commuters because at the end of the day they will suffer.
Commuters struggling early in the morning for transport going to work, to school and other places. Stones and other debris were used to close roads in places like Ackerville, Lynnville and Klarinet. It is not known how long the stoppage will last.
Mr Vilane and other members of the association protested and marched to the municipality offices to try to solve the problem.
A spokesperson from WTT could not be found. The United Long Distance Transport Association assistant rank chairman Mr Solomon Moropana said that even though they were not involved in the matter as they do not use the Klarinet route, they were also affected because even routes to Gauteng and other areas were closed as well.
“We have tried to open the roads, but they close them again. They use trucks to block the roads. The best solution to the problem is that both organisations should sit down and come up with a solution to the problem,” noted Mr Moropana.
The South African Police Services members were on standby monitoring the situation at the scene.
