The Day The Law Descended On The Taxi Rank

Ike Vavi
Correspondent | Monday September 6, 2010 00:00

 

 The man with a book who usually controls and directs the taxi operations has disappeared into thin air. It is clear that getting home today will be a struggle. The blaring sounds of car radios at the rank have died down and there are no usual arguments about which taxi is supposed to load first and why. The temporary tribunals convened to resolve such disputes have been suspended. The rank is for once quite.

Traffic police officers and officials from the department of transport are on the prowl. They have temporarily made the rank a 'no go area' for those who have been masquerading as public transporters illegally. The officers have been checking roadworthiness certificates, transport permits, licences and fire extinguishers. All these are a must for any transport operator. The seriousness and intension of this operation is clear. The police are in no mood to compromise.

They have erected a roadblock just at the exit of the taxi rank.  The guilty ones have no way out. A break-down truck is on hand to tow away taxis that have failed to make the grade.

Passengers scramble for the few available taxis - the ones who have passed the test. The drivers of the available taxis have decided to engage in temporary discrimination. They now prefer to travel shorter distances, which will allow them to quickly come back for more passengers. The smiles on their faces say it all. Their unfortunate 'colleagues' who have been caught by the long arm of the law are now helpless bystanders.

One taxi driver, who prefers anonymity,  registers his displeasure particularly about the timing of the operation by the police and transport officials. 'It is unfortunate that these guys have decided to raid at month end. This is now proving to be a great inconvenience to the very same passengers that they say they want to help and protect. People are now stranded and desperate,' he says.

Another taxi driver is excited about the exercise. 'Please Sir! Don't write my name, ba ka tla ba nthasela bare ke nna ke biditseng mapodise (they will attack me thinking that I am the one who called the police).  These two departments are doing a wonderful job. It is better to have few taxis that are complying with the law than to have many taxis which we are not sure of in terms of their roadworthiness,' he says.

'Today I will make a lot of money. I am going to make money that I am supposed to be making if it was not for these bogus taxi operators. This has shown many people that although they always see many taxis at the rank, not all of them are legitimate as some are just as good as mechovas. I wish these guys could be mounting these road blocks every day,' he says.

The sentiments are shared by Pastor Mangisi of Tutume. 'Although this is somehow an inconvenience to us as passengers, it is a necessary evil in this instance. I think we should really appreciate this and hope that they will continue to do so through out the year,' he says.

Ndoda Buang of Tonota is surprised and worried about what the operation revealed. 'If what happened on Friday is anything to go by, then the lives of commuters are in great danger. The clean-up operation has revealed that most of the taxi drivers are either not qualified or that their taxis are not roadworthy. How does one explain a situation in which the taxi rank was for once deserted when we always find many taxis queueing here everyday! Today all those taxis are not here except for a few. This crack-down should continue to save the lives of many innocent passengers,' he says.

He is impressed with how the operation has been carried out. 'These guys are serious about our safety. This is why they are even checking if the taxis have fire extinguishers as per the requirements of the law. This is a commendable job indeed,' he says.