Soweto taxi associations reach an agreement
Updated | By Thabo Tshabalala
The National Taxi Alliance (NTA) has confirmed an agreement between the Witwatersrand Taxi Association (Wata) and the Nancefield-Dube West Taxi Association (Nanduwe).
This comes after the on-going conflict between the two associations over routes resulted in the closure of six taxi ranks and routes in Soweto, from Friday morning.
Gauteng transport MEC Ismail Vadi said on Wednesday he planned to keep the ranks and routes shut for three months to ensure the safety of taxi commuters.
NTA spokesperson Theo Malele said the agreement was reached late on Thursday and both associations have signed a new operational plan.
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"This will be done according to the operating license prescription. They will establish a joint operations committee that will on a daily basis look at the smooth running of the operations and report directly to the Gauteng National Taxi Alliance."
Malele adds that the joint committee will comprise of four members from each of the associations who have been mandated to ensure operations run smoothly.
"The other resolution was that both associations' executives would meet once a week in order to begin working closely which each other.
"The other issue is that they would work according to the interpretation of their operating license and make sure peace prevails," Malele said.
Malele concludes by saying they hope MEC Vadi will respond positively to the agreement and revert his decision on the closure of the six taxi ranks.
Meanwhile, Johannesburg Metro Police Departmenet (JMPD) officers were deployed to the six taxi ranks to monitor the flow of traffic from early Friday morning.
"The officers are monitoring the routes to see that the motorists are safe and that traffic is flowing," said JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar.
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