Media Release by Daylin Mitchell Western Cape Minister of Mobility
After nearly eighteen months of closure, I declare the minibus-taxi route between Mbekweni (Paarl) and Bellville officially open starting from today, Thursday 8 December 2022.
I closed the route in July 2021 when I invoked my powers in terms of section 91 of the National Land Transport Act (5 of 2009) following continuous incidents of violence between members of the rival associations over control of the route. This section of the legislation allows the MEC responsible for Transport in the province to declare an area as high-risk in respect of taxi violence and to close affected ranks and routes where the safety of passengers and people entering the area has degenerated to an unacceptable level.
To minimise disruptions to travel patterns, I authorized Golden Arrow Bus Services to provide a replacement service for commuters while the route was closed. This service will continue to run in parallel with the taxi services until all valid tickets have been used.
The decision to reopen the route follows the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the CATA Boland Taxi Association and the Paarl Alliance Taxi Association (affiliated to Codeta). Both associations have legal rights to trade on this route. The associations have agreed to co-exist and to jointly provide the services authorised by their operating licences. It is important to note that most longstanding agreements are reached by consensus between the parties and not when conditions are imposed by government.
Pursuant to this agreement, the Drakenstein Municipality and the City of Cape Town have agreed to support additional operating licence applications to create a more equitable balance between minibus-taxi supply and demand. Although the current closure period only ends on 26 December 2022 as per the notice published in the Government Gazette, we agreed that we would reopen the route once the regulatory processes have been completed.
Whilst we recognise that many people are entirely dependent on public transport services to access social and economic opportunities, the safety of commuters remains the key consideration. We have a duty as government to ensure a safe and dignified environment for public transport users and we will act decisively where the safety of passengers is compromised.
My Department invested a considerable amount of time, funding and energy into mediation efforts that did not have the desired effect. This was followed by an arbitration process to pronounce on legal rights to trade on this route. The arbitration award was released in November 2021 and confirmed that members of both associations have the requisite rights to provide minibus-taxi type services on route B97.
A decision to close a taxi route is always a last resort given that it impacts the livelihood of operators, and has an impact on our commuters. I commend the industry leadership for remaining committed to the peace process and for working tirelessly to find a workable solution.
Together with the SANTACO provincial and regional leadership, we continued to search for common ground between the parties and we are pleased that we are signing this agreement. This conflict has been ongoing for more than 20 years and this is a watershed moment that will hopefully set a good precedent for the minibus taxi industry.
Although I am pleased about the outcome of the process and re-opening of this route, we will continue to monitor the route in partnership with local government and we will intervene if necessary in the interests of commuter safety.
Media Queries:
Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka
Spokesperson for Minister Daylin Mitchell
Cell: 082 953 0026
Email: Ntomboxolo.Makoba-Somdaka@westerncape.gov.za