Nicolette Dirk
COMMUTERS using taxis instead of trains to travel to work are borrowing money from friends and family for taxi fare.
Yesterday morning thousands of commuters were left stranded when signalling equipment was vandalised. Trains ran up to two hours late.
This was on top of days of arson attacks in which trains were destroyed.
Noncendo Bilikane, from Khayelitsha, is paying more to travel in a week than she normally pays for a month.
Her monthly Metrorail ticket is R190. But with mayhem at Khayelitsha station, Bilikane has been forced to pay R48 a day to travel to work in the CBD and back home. This works out at R240 a week.
“I have to take a taxi from Khayelitsha station to Site C (to the taxi rank) that cost me R8. From there I have to take another taxi to Cape Town that cost me R16. The extra costs have been very difficult for me,” said Bilikane.
During Friday’s chaos at Cape Town station, the mother-of-two had to borrow money from colleagues to take a taxi home. For the past few days she has borrowed money from her neighbours to travel in and out of the CBD.
“I also have to pay R760 for my two children’s private transport to school in Mitchells Plain. It has been so difficult for me,” said Bilikane.
Lindi Gagyi, from Mandalay, has also been forced to borrow money from neighbours to travel to Cape Town for work.
Gagyi spends R340 on her monthly ticket, but with no trains travelling from Mandalay station, Gagyi has had to fork out R48 extra to travel to work with a taxi.
“By the time I get to the taxi rank at Mandalay at 6.45 there is already a long line and I only get to work past nine. I have had to borrow money from colleagues because it is the middle of the month.
“Financially I cannot cope and don’t know how I will survive until the end of this month,” said Gagyi.
Last night, Gagyi was still standing in a long queue at Cape Town station, waiting for her taxi.
Manenberg Taxi Association chairperson Leon Williams said most of their passengers who would normally take the train were now paying double for the taxi.
“Because of our routes many pay R7 to get from Manenberg to Gatesville. They change taxis there and pay another R7 to get to Bonteheuwel,” said Williams.
“They have to now pay double the money to get to work.”
Williams said some taxi drivers allowed their passengers to pay at the end of the week because that was the only time they had money.
“These people are taking financial strain having to have extra money for rising food and electricity costs,” said Williams.
Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association’s interim secretary, Malibongwe Gqoboka, said they were coping with the increase in passengers for now.