Taxi fares go up in Cape

Cape Town taxi commuters and long distance travellers dig deeper into their pockets as fares increase on certain routes.

Cape Town - Cape Town taxi commuters and long distance travellers are digging deeper into their pockets as fares have increased on certain routes.

People travelling from Nyanga, Philippi, Lower Crossroads, Samora Machel, Gugulethu and Langa to Cape Town, Wynberg and Claremont are shelling out an extra R2.

Fares from Mitchells Plain, Retreat, Dunoon and Fish Hoek to Cape Town, Wynberg and Claremont have increased by R1.

Those travelling to other provinces are paying an extra R50 for the service.

Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) Long Distance secretary Ndoyisela Dyobesi said long distance prices have increased as it does every year during the festive season.

From Cape Town to the Eastern Cape, Bloemfontein and Kimberley prices have increased by R50.

“Food, petrol and maintaining a car has gone up,” he said.

From Khayelitsha to “any destination”, prices remain the same.

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) said it advertised fare increases at the beginning of November.

Provincial Santaco chairperson Mzoxolo Dibela said increases were largely related to increases in petrol and maintenance.

Vehicle spare parts had also gone up in price. And government does not subsidise taxis as a public transport system.

“We don’t link our prices with inflation. When fuel prices increase, our prices remain the same. The increase covers the whole year,” said Dibela.

Retreat Taxi Association (Reta) chairperson Basil Nagel said prices increased in August by R1 a trip to all destinations.

He said the last time prices increased was five years ago.

“We tried to keep the increases to a minimal as we serve the poor of the poorest. The decision was fair and reasonable.

“Out of the R1 increase, a driver is also expecting to earn a living,” said Nagel.

Commuters are not happy about the increase and have threatened to boycott taxis, but Dibela said commuters will get used to the increase.

Commuter Sithembiso Kotelana, 19, who travels every day of the week to Cape Town from Nyanga, said he was surprised when a taxi driver told him about the increase.

“R2 is a lot of money. It is unfair to commuters because the previous prices were already too high,” he said.

Kotelana said he might consider changing from a taxi to a different mode of transport, adding that “trains were the cheapest”.

“Many of the taxi commuters are students and they can’t afford the extra R2,” Kotelana said.

Commuter Ncedeka Takashe, 22, said she could hardly afford to pay the previous fare and now getting to her destination would be even more difficult.

Taxi driver Mlulami Bongoza, 30, said the call to increase fares “came from the top” and he was only enforcing what has been agreed upon.

sandiso.phaliso@inl.co.za

@PhalisoSandiso

Cape Times

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