- A major taxi route between Paarl and Bellville will close on Monday because of a deadly taxi dispute.
- This means certain ranks in Mbekweni in Paarl will close, and three ranks in Bellville will also shut down.
- Cata and Codeta each claim to have the right to the route and have failed to resolve the issue during mediation.
The B97 taxi route between Paarl and Bellville will close on Monday because of a deadly taxi dispute which has left at least 83 people dead since the beginning of the year.
"We can longer be held hostage by a criminal few who continue to undermine the interests of many law-abiding taxi drivers, and who threaten both the lives and livelihoods of our residents," Western Cape Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell said.
"I have sworn an oath to act in the best interests of our people and will continue to do so, using every mechanism available to me," he added.
This means the official ranks near Shoprite in Mbekweni and the one in Mohajane Street will close, as will the unofficial rank in Mbekweni.
However, associations not affiliated to the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) will be allowed to operate from the Bellville Interchange, but access will be controlled.
The main taxi rank in Bellville will also close, as will the rank near Paint City and the unofficial rank near Bellrail.
This is due to a deadly dispute between Cata and Codeta.
The ranks serve a wide network of suburbs which include Gugulethu, Dunoon and Atlantis, and the towns of Worcester and Ceres.
In a situation update, the transport department said although there were still disruptions at public transport interchanges on Friday, other modes of public transport were operating as well as minibus taxis not affiliated to Cata or Codeta.
The closure in terms of Section 91 of the National Land Transport Act suspends the permits for that route and allows for temporary permits to be issued to keep transporting commuters.
Mitchell published an intention to do so given the violence and asked for comments.
"I have carefully considered all submissions in this respect, and after consultation with the [SA Police Service], the premier, and the national minister of transport, believe this to be the correct course of action."
This means that from Monday all routes and ranks, including lanes and long-distance route facilities situated at the Bellville Public Transport Interchange, will be closed for two months for the operation of any minibus taxi-type service.
He said:
All operating licences or permits for a minibus taxi-type service on the route or at ranks associated with it have been suspended.
The fine for violating it is R5 000 or six months' imprisonment.
Temporary permits may be issued for cars or minibuses during the route closure.
More details on the alternate arrangements will follow, but it is bound to be a severe blow for commuters already reeling from the ongoing shootings.
Earlier this week, Mitchell said at least 120 000 commuters have been affected by the disruptions.
Thousands of commuters were also stranded.
The battle for control has mainly been over the lucrative B97 route.
In Cape Town, taxi associations have to belong to the "mother bodies" Cata or Codeta. In previous briefings, the media heard that some associations force illegal operators who started a new route to join them for protection and then absorb their routes and business. There is also some floor crossing between associations.
In the meantime, the police and SA National Defence Force (SANDF) are patrolling hotspot areas.
Police spokesperson Colonel Andre Traut said foot patrols were conducted at the Nyanga taxi rank on Thursday night during an integrated operation by members of the Provincial Integrated Task Team, Public Order Police and the SANDF.
One person who raised the team's suspicions was searched, and an unlicensed firearm was discovered.
The 38-year-old will be in custody until his court appearance in Athlone on Monday.
The City of Cape Town's mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said some taxi operators parked their vehicles at a rank in Nyanga to block access.
Arrangements are being made to tow them away.
He said although there have been a few days of no shootings, Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) drivers and commuters are being intimidated, and paint has been thrown at bus windscreens.
Smith said:
This includes Khayelitsha, Langa, Samora Machel and Nyanga.
Buses were picking up passengers in front of the Nyanga police station near the rank.
Western Cape Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz welcomed the relative calm and committed the department to assist the authorities in protecting commuters.
"I'm just glad that we have been able to restore calm. The South African Police Service, supported by the SANDF, metro police and other law enforcement agencies, have really done an excellent job in bringing calm back to our streets. And I really think that it is important that we acknowledge the work they have done," Fritz said.
In the meantime, the SA Human Rights Commission implored employers to be sympathetic to staff caught up in the violence.
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