The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) in the Western Cape has announced a taxi fare increase across various routes in the province, citing rising fuel prices and mounting operational costs faced by operators.
The announcement was made during a media briefing held in Bellville on Thursday, May 14, where taxi industry leaders said the increase would take effect from Monday, May 18.
According to the taxi council, fare increases will vary by route and distance, with some commuters expected to pay between R2 and R3, and more.
Speaking at the briefing, Nceba Enge, chairperson of the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (CODETA), said operators were left with little choice but to increase fares.
“We want to apologise to the commuters for maybe not giving them enough notice. But prior to this increase, we issued a statement where we notified our commuters that prices will increase because operators cannot pay for their vehicles. Their vehicles are being repossessed by financial institutions. So that forced us with no choice but to increase,” he said.
Mr Enge said CODETA and the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) had previously met in Nyanga to discuss concerns around rising fuel costs and fare hikes before consulting regions across the Western Cape.
He added that long-distance taxi fares would also increase from next week.
The single trip to the Eastern Cape will increase from R1 000 to R1 150. The special Thursday trip will increase from R1 250 to R1 400, while the special Wednesday trip will rise from R1 200 to R1 350.
The Saldanha single trip fare will increase from R1 000 to R1 200, while the special trip fare will increase from R1 300 to R1 450.
These fare increases will take effect from Thursday, May 21.
The joint regional statement was delivered by Nelson Mayezana, who said SANTACO represents eight regions in the province, including Boland, CATA, CODETA, Eden, Greater Cape Town, Mitchells Plain, Northern, and Two Oceans.
Mr Mayezana said the taxi industry continued to face significant financial pressure beyond fuel costs alone.
“A taxi operator must carry the cost of vehicle finance payments, insurance, vehicle registration, licensing fees, services and repairs, fuel driver costs, relief driver costs, rank marshals, payments to sliding door operators or conductors, association fees, and operational expenses,” he said.
He emphasised that fare decisions remain route-specific and are determined by associations based on operational realities in their areas.
“The realities of Mitchell’s Plain are not always the same as those of Two Oceans. The realities of Eden and Boland are not always the same as those of Northern and Greater Cape Town,” he said.
Nazeem Abdurahman, the second deputy chairperson of SANTACO in the province, said the industry had attempted to shield commuters from frequent fare increases despite continuous fuel hikes.
“We are always considerate about our commuters, that they are not being burdened with this unnecessary money towards the taxi fare,” he said.
Mr Abdurahman said SANTACO Western Cape had approached the government to request financial relief or subsidies for the minibus taxi industry.
“We have written to our national Minister of Transport to look into this, so that at least we can subsidize in this crisis period to the minibus taxi industry, because we don’t enjoy the subsidy that other modes of transport enjoy,” he said.
He added that many taxi operators were struggling to maintain their vehicles and retain drivers due to declining profits and rising fuel prices.
“We are losing drivers almost every day because they can’t make those targets,” he said.
Meanwhile, SANTACO Western Cape chairperson, Besuthu Ndungane, said discussions were ongoing with the Western Cape Government regarding possible relief measures for the industry.
“Even though we have been trying in the minibus industry to avoid transferring the burden to the commuter, we are at a point where our operators are unable to carry on subsidizing the commuting members of the public,” Mr Ndungane said.
He added that SANTACO was optimistic about engagements with both provincial and national transport authorities regarding future support measures for the taxi sector.
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Sibulele Kasa
plainsman.co.za