Brave new minibus taxi world: Cashless and taxed

Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape refrain from increasing taxi fares but haven’t ruled out the possibility

Twenty-two percent of Capetonians use minibus taxis, but the city’s transport model will reduce this

The short-trip taxis, which are mostly unlicensed, have been linked to crime in townships

The reopening of Route B97 without an agreement may result in a flood of illegal taxi operators and reignite taxi violence

‘Sufficient police visibility’ planned in the suburbs of Maitland and Ndabeni.

The Western Cape government has warned of route closures and the suspension of operating licences should the violence continue

The demonstration, organised by two taxi associations, Codeta and Cata, blocked several arterial roads into the city’s central business district on Thursday morning

Fears of renewed taxi violence are sparked after the body of a leader of the Congress of Democratic Taxi Association was found on sand dunes near Khayelitsha

Mbongeni Songo is facing four counts of murder and one of attempted murder. A fifth person was wounded in the same incident

Three members affiliated with taxi association Cata have been gunned down at the Joe Slovo minibus taxi rank in Cape Town

But key route remains closed and affected areas halt issuing of operating licences

The flare-up of the taxi war in the Western Cape has again shown the industry’s ability to hold commuters, the state and the local economy to ransom

But despite the calm, rival taxi associations have not yet made peace in their turf war

Western Cape government cuts off its Blue Dot incentive payments to Cata and Codeta and financial support agreement with Santaco

Forty-three people were shot dead in the first six months of this year in the Western Cape’s intractable taxi violence, while close to 100 have been arrested and 40 are on court…