Taxi fares to increase in Western Cape, Limpopo on Monday
· Citizen
Taxi fares in the Western Cape and Limpopo will increase for both local and long-distance travel from Monday, as taxi associations respond to rising petrol prices driven by the war in the Middle East.
The SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) said in a media briefing on Thursday that the increases would strain the budgets of already burdened households.
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Fare increases will reportedly differ by route and distance travelled, with some commuters expected to pay between R2 and R6 more. In Limpopo, fares will only increase by R5 from Seshego to Polokwane.
Taxi fare increases can’t be avoided
Santaco spokesperson Rebecca Phala told SABC News that long-distance trips will go up by R10 to R30.
She noted that this increase was unavoidable as taxi owners will be spending a lot of money on diesel.
“With the second announcement, all of us had to acknowledge that more money will be spent on diesel, especially because most of our cars use it,” she said.
“They are paying just over R30 now for a litre, so we cannot avoid these hikes. The associations that have not implemented the taxi fare hikes will do so mid-May or at the end of the month.”
Taxi fare increases to hurt households
Another taxi association, the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (CODETA), also noted the impact that the increase would have on household budgets, but operators had little choice but to increase fares.
“We want to apologise to the commuters for maybe not giving them enough notice. But prior to this increase, we issued a statement where we notified our commuters that prices will increase because operators cannot pay for their vehicles,” said Nceba Enge, CODETA chairperson.
“A taxi operator must carry the cost of vehicle finance payments, insurance, vehicle registration, licensing fees, services and repairs, fuel driver costs, relief driver costs, rank marshals, payments to sliding-door operators or conductors, association fees, and operational expenses,” said Nelson Mayezana, chairperson of Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA)
Another set of increases to hit
Enge also noted that taxi fares for longer-distance trips will increase by R150. This means a single trip from the province to the Eastern Cape will increase from R1 000 to R1 150.
The special Thursday trip will increase from R1 250 to R1 400, while the special Wednesday trip will rise from R1 200 to R1 350.
The Saldanha single-trip fare will increase from R1 000 to R1 200, while the special-trip fare will increase from R1 300 to R1 450.
These fare increases will take effect from Thursday, 21 May.
Increases in Limpopo
The Seshego Polokwane Taxi Association reportedly announced that local fares will increase by R5, from R15 to R20 per trip. This increase will only affect trips between Seshego and Polokwane.
Association chairperson, Takalani Nemahungani, explained that the decision was a last resort driven by high fuel prices and costly vehicle maintenance costs.
”We end up having no other alternative but to increase the fares. We know that this will cause inconvenience, as we know that most of our people are not working,” said Nemahungani.