Pretoria News writes that, while Wednesday’s taxi strike left thousands of commuters stranded, motorists furious and services in the City of Tshawane disrupted, the march itself was orderly and controlled as law enforcement officers and marshals kept taxi operators in check.
About 2,000 taxi operators descended on Pretoria and marched to the Department of Transport and to the Union Buildings to protest against the failure of the government to scrap traffic violation tickets, and to demand an increase in the money they received when surrendering old taxis as part of the recapitalisation plan. The taxi operators also wanted subsidies from the government, warning that if those did not come it would be at a hefty cost to taxi users. The National Taxi Alliance (NTA) members were joined by others associations like the Menlyn Taxi Association, Federal Local and Long Distance Association and Vuta Taxi Association. The protest was necessitated by Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi's failure to respond to the serious problems facing the industry, NTA president Francis Masitsa said.
- Read this report by Sakhile Ndlazi in full at Pretoria News
- Read too, Taxi strike: 21-day deadline given, at eNCA
- And also, Taxis want industry probe, at The New Age
- As well as, MEC Lesufi pleased with matric exam attendance during taxi strike, at IOL News
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page