Taxi commuters in several Gauteng areas have been left stranded as taxi operators embark on a strike over government’s COVID-19 relief fund.
In July this year, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced that the taxi industry would be allocated more than R1-billion in relief funds.
In Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, there are no taxis operating on Wednesday morning.
Members of the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) will today march to the offices of the Department of Transport and the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
The taxi rank in Marlboro which is usually abuzz with activity at this time is rather quiet as dozens of taxis remain parked.
Commuters can be seen scurrying around the streets trying to find alternative transport to make their way to work.
#TaxiStrike do not go to bree for taxis its closed pic.twitter.com/lrjFtQw5vm
— Kevin Kraaty (@kevinkraaty) November 18, 2020
Some of them say this is going to be a costly affair for them as busses are scarce in the area and that they have to make use of more expensive modes of transport such as Uber and Taxify.
TODAY: #TaxiStrike Taxi operators have blocked off the N1 North at the N17, ahead of protest in Pretoria. Traffic backed up from Soweto Highway. Motorists advised to avoid. @JoburgMPD on standby #JHBTraffic #JoburgRoadSafety #SaferJoburg ^GZ pic.twitter.com/9C6SOz9upq
— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) November 18, 2020
In the video below, Transport Minister speaks about government relief for taxi industry:
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