It appears the conflict between taxi operators and police in Cape Town is due to unhappiness over exorbitant fines imposed on their vehicles.
Taxi operators allegedly took the firearm of an off duty police officer earlier Tuesday.
A number of taxis have blockaded a section of Christiaan Barnard Road and the entrance to the taxi rank on the station deck.
Cape Town – Christiaan Barnard Street: #TaxiProtest ROAD CLOSED heading north out of the CBD area https://t.co/rgZXIuvhmF
— Rob Beezy (@TrafficSA) October 15, 2019
All lanes of Christiaan Barnard road have been closed, limiting access to the N1 and N2.
Police are monitoring the situation.
This unidentified taxi driver says they are tired of being targeted by the city’s law enforcement officials: “We have a problem with the traffic officers. They treat us like criminals. All of us here have a family that we have to provide for. If I made R800 for the day, how can they give me tickets of R3 000 and the same ticket in the Eastern Cape is R500. The bylaws in Cape Town, I think we have to go to court and we must see if that is constitutionally right.”
