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Eastern Cape Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha has called on the province’s taxi industry to focus on diversifying their income streams and cease any violence in the sector.
He was speaking at a public transport colloquium in East London following a meeting with taxi operators this week.
Nqatha said they wanted to identify sustainable solutions to formalise and transform the transport industry and reduce incidents of lawlessness.
“At the heart of the tensions, violence, and fights over routes in the industry, is money. Therefore we must ensure we diversify business opportunities in the taxi industry.”
Taxi owners, operators, and small bus operators were invited to explore business opportunities for the short, medium, and long term in the industry to make the transport sector more sustainable.
Some of the avenues being explored are for the government to revive the railway line between Mthatha and East London and for the taxi industry to possibly expand operations into the bus sector.
“Buses supported by the government in the province can be a source of income, with a short-term plan being the taxi industry supplying fuel to bus companies subsidized by the state.”
Nqatha said this week’s colloquium emerged with an agreement to establish a working group to develop an implementing plan to put that vision into place.
These suggestions come amidst a long-standing legal battle between long-distance bus company Intercape and taxi operators who have targeted the company's buses in the province.
The company has also obtained several orders in the high court in Makhanda, to compel the MEC and the national minister to ensure the safety of passengers and staff.
Nqata said they are appealing the matter in the hope that a full bench will arrive at a different decision.
The N2 route at Dutywa has also been blocked several times amid the ongoing dispute.
MEC Nqatha said he recently met taxi associations in Dutwya and Butterworth to listen to their grievances and also attended a ‘road closure’ where he said he got to understand some of the grievances that taxi and bus drivers have.
He said there was “relative calm” in the sector following recent engagements.
