Western Cape Santaco: City of Cape Town’s impounding of taxis putting livelihoods at risk
Taxi umbrella body Santaco in the Western Cape believes the City of Cape Town’s constant and unfair impoundment of taxis was putting many livelihoods at risk.
Chaos erupted in the Cape Town CBD earlier this week, when taxi operators, law enforcement officers and police violently clashed.
Taxi operators staged a protest at the entrance of the station deck taxi rank after a number of vehicles were impounded.
They expressed their unhappiness about a new by-law affecting their operations.
The council said 488 operators had their vehicles repossessed in the last 12 months.
Primary taxi associations are expected to meet on Thursday in Khayelitsha, while separately, a joint government meeting is set to be held later in the day.
But City Safety and Security Mayco member, JP Smith, stressed that taxis were being impounded in terms of the National Land Transportation Act.
“The National Land Transportation Act says that in order to drive a public transport vehicle, you have to have an operating permit and you have to drive in terms of the conditions of that operating permit which includes all other road traffic rules, so we’re not doing any impoundments in terms of the traffic by-law.”
Smith said avoiding an impoundment was easy, by complying with the same road traffic rules as everyone else.
“Back in the day, we used to impound only for operating licences and off-route but if you go look at it now, about three-quarters of impoundments relate to driving behaviour.
“In the case of the impoundments, our focus has been on driving behaviour. So, if you’re driving on the sidewalk like along Wetton Road or driving over traffic lights, or any number of dangerous and reckless activities… we impound you. I cannot find it in my heart to have sympathy.”
-EWN
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