Taxi operations are back in full swing on Tuesday morning in Soshanguve, Erasmus, Mabopane and other parts of Pretoria.
Disgruntled taxi operators suspended services on Monday in Gauteng.
They didn’t agree with the government’s R1.1 billion COVID-19 relief fund.
They say it’s too little to cover for the losses they’ve incurred since the country went into lockdown in March.
The police and the army had to intervene after protesting taxi drivers blockaded roads with burning tyres and rocks:
VIDEO: Police and soldiers chasing away taxi operators in Soshanguve after protesting taxi drivers blockaded the roads with burning Tyres and rocks #sabcnews #Taxistrike pic.twitter.com/kANJVDqFil
— Tshepiso Moche (@tshepimoche) June 22, 2020
In the video below, a disgruntled taxi driver shares his frustrations:
VIDEO : This taxi owner says the bank has repossessed his taxi as he couldn’t service his debt due to COVID-19. He has urged government to intervene to avoid this from happening to other taxi owners. #sabcnews #Taxistrike pic.twitter.com/SJ4rZ4notz
— Tshepiso Moche (@tshepimoche) June 22, 2020
Negotiations still welcomed
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula told scores of taxi owners and drivers in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria on Monday, that government doesn’t have any funds left, but further negotiations are still welcomed.
Mbalula also pleaded with taxi drivers and owners to protest in a peaceful manner and to refrain from blocking roads.
A spokesperson for the Erasmus Akasia Taxi Association Petrus Sibiya says, “The taxis are running, but we are still busy negotiating with the Minister of Transport with our problems. But we are busy and we are working today while negotiations are continuing to resolve our issues.”
Sibiya says taxis have been running since 05:00 and will continue until midnight.
Commuters left stranded
Commuters across the north of Pretoria in the townships and other parts of the province were left stranded and were seen hitch-hiking in an attempt to access other means of transport to get to their destinations.
Taxi commuters in Alexandra township, north of Johannesburg, said the taxi strike will have dire consequences for their jobs.
Commuters said their bosses and companies will never understand that they didn’t have the means of transport to report for duty.
In the video below, commuters in Soshanguve share their frustrations over the unavailability of transport:
-Additional reporting by SABC News.
