Gauteng’s MEC for Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, has announced a settlement with the taxi industry, effectively bringing a two-day strike in the City of Ekurhuleni to an end. This announcement comes as a relief to many residents of Katlehong, Tembisa, Germiston, and surrounding areas who faced significant transportation disruptions since the strike commenced.The strike was instigated by the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) in response to the Department of Transport’s impounding of 17 taxis for various infractions.
The sudden action left thousands of commuters scrambling for alternative travel arrangements, highlighting the critical role that the taxi industry plays in public transport across the region.In a media briefing held in Pretoria, Diale-Tlabela expressed her satisfaction in reaching an agreement with the taxi operators, stating, “What is important to us is to apologise to those who have been inconvenienced by lack of services since yesterday and this morning.”
The MEC confirmed that taxi services would resume this afternoon and emphasised the importance of ensuring that passengers receive reliable transport moving forward.“And importantly to us is to deal [with] the issues that they have raised and amongst those issues is how do we make sure that there is law and order within public transport operations in our province,” she added, underscoring the need to address the ongoing issues affecting public transport operations in Gauteng.