I operate a small fleet of metered taxis in Cape Town and thought I should share my concerns with your paper. I believe the simple message is being lost in all the drama surrounding metered taxis and E-hailing companies.
The Minister said for the first time this week that every vehicle must have an operating licence, and that is the issue.
Metered taxis are highly regulated, down to where they may operate, sometimes confined to a 17km radius, restricted fares, roof light, signage, no minimum charge, no time charges allowed, no increase of fares (you can apply to increase your fare and it will take three months and a great deal of money). Along comes the exact same service with no regulations, no enforcement, no accountability whatsoever and nobody can understand all the fuss.
Apps are not new to the industry and traditional metered taxis have been using them for a while. This is an indication that it is not a new service but rather an additional tool to use to call a taxi. However, when that taxi arrives, it must be a legal taxi whether it is a traditional taxi (of which over 800 in Cape Town have e-hailing facilities) or an E-hailing operator. That vehicle and driver must comply with the National Land Transport Act, which is not rocket science.
So to allow a multinational free rein and show total disregard for the law is disingenuous and the repercussions of that are becoming evident. Act against the operators placing illegal vehicles on our roads and you won’t have to impound, fine and charge taxis, which must surely be clogging up impound yards and wasting the precious man-hours of the traffic departments. Surely after continuous impounds and fines, it is clear that the operator has no intention of compliance at all.
E-hailing is a magnificent tool for taxis that is becoming part and parcel of the industry, but it is just a tool and not a separate service that is defined in any Act anywhere, and as such a taxi is a taxi, let the public decide which company to use.
Government must wake up and act against illegal operators who blatantly place illegal vehicles on our roads to service their own business models with total disregard for the law. For the record, I am a great advocate of change and innovation, and support e-hailing as a tool. I also look forward to continued growth in the taxi industry but within the confines of the law – after all, we’re dealing with public transport.
The public could also play a part and request to see the operating licence of the vehicle, perhaps that would be a start.
