By Buziwe Nocuze
Cape Town matriculants have urged taxi operators in and around the city to postpone the provincial stayaway planned for Monday and Tuesday next week.
The learners have pleaded with the operators to postpone the action until they have finished writing their final-year exams.
The strike comes after MEC for Transport in the province, Daylin Mitchell, announced that the Blue Dot taxi project would be terminated at the end of this month.
Over a year ago, the Western Cape Transport department partnered with the provincial minibus taxi industry to roll out the pilot project, an incentive programme to reward improved driving behaviour and good passenger service quality.
The termination of the project angered the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) in the province. They immediately issued a statement announcing the strike.
They are demanding that the department review the by-law under which taxis are impounded, as well as funding for the expansion of Blue Dot.
They also want a commitment by the Western Cape government to support formalisation efforts by the taxi industry by investing in programmes that empower and transform the industry.
A 17-year-old grade 12 learner, who didn’t want to be named, told Scrolla.Africa that she was stressed and could not think how she would get to school on the days of the strike.
“We are appealing to them to stop until we have finished writing our final exams, because we all know that this might end in a protest and we won’t go to school.”
A parent said organising private transport for their children won’t help, because motorists fear the taxi industry.
“They have a terrible reputation, and if they do not burn buses, private cars will be damaged on these two days; hence we are asking them to postpone the stayaway until our kids finish writing.”
Another learner said the timing was terrible. “We cannot concentrate on reading because we are too stressed about how we will get to school next week. We will not even get Uber on those two days, because they will be targeted.”
SANTACO Western Cape chairperson Mandla Hermanus said the challenge is that the timetable is not universal across the province and not everyone writes on the same dates.
“Parents should communicate with their kids’ schools and ask them to talk to the Department of Education to make an arrangement in case there are learners who won’t make it to school on the days of the strike,” he said.
Pictured above: Taxis lined up on a highway
Image source: @IOL
