/ 18 May 2000

BID TO END CAPE TAXI WARS

WESTERN Cape Transport MEC Piet Meyer met taxi operators on Wednesday in a bid to end their two-month dispute with the Golden Arrow bus company over who gets to operate lucrative township routes. While the talks were described as constructive and more discussions were scheduled for Monday – which bus company representatives are to attend – little headway seemed to have been made in resolving the conflict, which has already claimed two lives. A law was passed on Tuesday empowering Meyer to close the taxi ranks, but he has yet to do so. Most residents of Kayelitsha, where bus services have been disrupted as a result of the dispute, oppose the taxi drivers which charge up to triple the fares charged by the bus company.