Johannesburg – Gauteng taxi operators affiliated to the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) have on Wednesday, advised commuters to arrange alternative transport for Thursday due to a massive march against what it called high minibus taxi purchase costs.
"No taxis will be running, we advice commuters to seek alternative transport. We apologise for any inconvenience that will be caused by this," Santaco spokesperson Ralph Jones said on Wednesday.
"The industry members will hand over a memorandum of grievances to the directors of SA Taxi Finance company. Some members have been hard hit by high interest rate of 28% [on vehicle finance] and blacklisting due to [required] repayments of R15,000 per month over 72 months...we can't take it anymore."
The Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) said it was aware of the planned march set to take place in Pretoria between 4am and 8am, but added that permission was not granted for the march to go ahead.
"As Tshwane Metro Police we did not approve any march, should the march proceed it will be regarded as an illegal activity. However, TMPD and other law enforcement agencies will deploy members to the affected areas for law enforcement," spokesperson Superintendent Isaac Mahamba.
Some highways such as Mabopane highway, the R21, N1 and the N4 could be severely affected by the march, he added.