By Buziwe Nocuze
• Codeta says passengers will soon tap cards or cellphones to pay for taxis at Cape Town ranks instead of carrying cash.
• Every Codeta taxi will have cameras and payment scanners as the association rolls out a new cashless system from 1 June.
Taxi passengers in Cape Town will soon leave their cash at home.
The Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association is bringing in a new cashless payment system at its taxi ranks from 1 June.
Passengers will use cards or their cellphones to pay for rides.
Codeta chairman Nceba Enge says passengers will load money onto cards they get at taxi ranks. People with smartphones will download the SAPAY app and tap their phones on stickers inside taxis.
Each taxi will have four payment stickers to stop long queues.
“We are changing how we do things,” said Enge.
He said the new system will help protect passengers from robbers while travelling to and from work.
Enge warned passengers that there could be problems in the early days of the rollout.
“They must not expect it to be smooth. There will be hiccups here and there, but we will fix things as we go,” he said.
The taxis will also get cameras and scanning devices.
Enge said every taxi will have a camera showing passengers getting in and out. Drivers will also use phones to scan cards when passengers pay.
He said taxi owners will see payments immediately and get their money on the same day after drivers finish work.
Some passengers are excited about the change, while others are worried it could slow down queues at busy ranks.
Mandisa Somhota said the new system could stop fights over taxi change and missing money.
“I am happy because we won’t have passengers fighting over change or drivers saying they did not get all their money,” said Somhota.
But she fears passengers could waste time waiting to tap cards and phones.
“It will be better if we are not going to spend too much time queuing,” she said.
Pamela Bikisile welcomed the move.
She said some passengers used transport money for other things and later borrowed from mashonisas to survive the month.
“With this card we will upload the money, so it is a good thing,” said Bikisile.
Image caption: Nceba Enge, pictured above, shows the card and sticker passengers will use to pay for taxis from next month.
Picture: Buziwe Nocuze
