FRIDAY, 5.00PM
AFTER six weeks of talks, the two largest of Gauteng’s warring taxi factions agreed to merge, ending a bloody five year war in which both drivers and passengers were casualties.
The Soweto Transport Services and Soweto Taxi Association, rivals on the routes in south and southwestern Soweto, will now be known as the Soweto Taxi Services.
The announcement was made by the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan councillor Sibusiso Buthelezi, who said the merger would bring peace and stability to the industry. Peace initiatives began when a group of concerned taxi owners, called the “Top Six” initiated negotiations which culminated in the merger of the two organisations.
In a ceremony after a launch meeting on Friday, taxi drivers removed their old identifying stickers from taxi windows and replaced them with the insignia of the new Soweto Taxi Services.
Greater Johannesburg mayor Isaac Mogase said: “The agreement is a blessing in the development of peace. We must encourage passengers to come back. Never again must there be violence.”