Today 15 June 2017, South Africa's economic hub was strategically brought to its knees by the national taxi association. The taxi industry was gracious enough to give commuters notice of their absence on the 15th of June.
Minibus taxis are predominantly the most available mode of transport in the country.
The bone of contention that lead to the strike is the exorbitant cost of purchasing an average minibus taxi; initially a taxi used to cost an average owner R160000 & that is the Toyota Hiace Siyaya, pictured below.
Many owners were able to afford these taxis and even increase their fleet. The South African government implemented a new law which required taxi owners to scrap the Siyaya taxi and in return get a subsidy when buying the new model that the Toyota Quantum, pictured below.
Which costs a whopping R450000. This has resulted in many owners not being able to purchase new taxis and increasing their fleets.
On average the monthly cost of a Toyota Quantum costs over R15000 per month and this does not include insurance which according to the representative of the taxi association is equal to what it costs a bus owner to insure his bus. Average interest charged on a minibus taxi finance is about prime interest rate plus 8, some go as high as 25 and 28%. In essence to insure a minibus taxi costs the same to insure a big bus. The other matter highlighted besides the exorbitant costs associated with owning a taxi in South Africa is the fact that getting an operating license is not child's play.
Today, from as early as 2:00 in the morning, taxis blocked major routes used to access the nation's capital Pretoria and the country's economic hub Johannesburg. The blockages were strategic and mostly peaceful. A memorandum of demands was handed to the biggest financier of taxis in the country called SA taxi finance. Although the public and organizations were grately impacted by the strike, the feeling is that part of the owner's plight is correct and coming from a relevat place. Although others were in disagreement as the taxi community is notoriously known for not obeying the rules of the road and endangering many on the roads, including their commuters.
More strikes are to be held, should the demands of the owners not be met. Below are some pictures of what happened during the day.
Stranded commuters.
Blocked highways.
