Hundreds of taxi passengers in the province will have to find alternative transport as drivers continue to stay away this morning.
Motorists are urged to avoid major roads in Stellenbosch as traffic enforcement officers and police take part in an illegal taxi strike on February 21, 2022. Photo: Saia Pearce-Jones/EWN.
CAPE TOWN – More chaos is expected in Cape Town on Tuesday as a strike by members of the Santaco taxi association continues for a second day.
Hundreds of taxi passengers in the province will have to find alternative modes of transport as the strike continues this morning.
READ: CT commuters urged to find alternative transport during taxi strike
Santaka organized the walkout to protest the announcement to end the government’s Blue Dot taxi program at the end of this month.
The program incentivizes drivers for good driving habits.
Monday’s blackout caused massive disruption, with two buses set on fire in Khayelitsha.
City officials said there were also reports of intimidation of passengers and stoning of vehicles.
Daylin Mitchell, MEC for Mobility Western Cape, said the violence surrounding the strike was unacceptable.
“With the crime and the ganging that we’ve seen, I mean, I can’t stand by and just watch it happen, and I’ve asked my department to do all the regulatory aspects that I can provide, which I” I’m going to do.”
Mitchell called for a long-term solution to the Santak standoff.
READ: Western Cape taxi drivers have downed their tools
“I want to urge the national government to say let’s get on with it because this is not a Western Cape initiative.
We just ran a pilot program to see if formalization in the industry could happen. Let’s make this a South African initiative with a minibus industry serving citizens across the country.”
