Benoni Taxi Association (BTA) wants an improved and ongoing working relationship with the community of Etwatwa in Ekurhuleni in resolving issues raised in the memorandum of the grievances delivered to its leadership recently.
This comes after the residents’ blocked taxis from operating in the township in a protest initiative after BTA failed to reply to their memorandum of demands.
Residents demand the association to address exorbitant local
fares, including a special request to have those travelling from Joburg to Benoni be collected and taken to the main taxi rank in Daveyton and that passengers be dropped off closer to their homes for safety reasons.
Due to the Association’s failure to respond the demand within the stipulated 7-days deadline, residents, the residents decided to embark and intensify the ongoing protests, blocking all the main roads, which not only impacted the daily travel to and from work, but the daily business operations for operators and residents.
“With the first blockade we allowed taxis to operate after taxi operators pleaded with us and their leaders promised to attend to our memorandum within seven days. They failed to give us a response within seven days. We want to show them that we are bigger than them,” said one community leader at the time.
Derrick Mntambo, BTA chairman, confirmed that his association and the residents have reached an agreement in a meeting attended by the Ekurhuleni MMC for Transport Andile Mngwevu and police colonel Mlatelo Maoto.
“We finally resolved our differences with the community after the first attempt to do so failed,” Mntambo said, adding that this was due to their leadership squabbles. “When we went to them to give them our response after we received the memorandum, they decided to turn us down due to their own internal leadership squabbles, we later discovered.”
He added: “Price adjustments apply to locals only from Emaphupheni and East to Caltex and West has now been reduced and ranges between R10.00 to R11.00 as from the 15th of August,” confirmed Mntambo.
He said the association will continue to engage with the residents in finding a long-lasting solution as the taxi industry appreciates the support that they’ve been getting from the community in growing the sector.
