By Emily Setona
QWAQWA – Residents of Qwaqwa bemoan that the conflict between the illegal taxis and the Qwaqwa United Taxi association (QWAUTA) is having a negative impact on them as a community because they depend on public transport to get by.
Irate residents put the blame squarely on Qwauta blaming it for its incompetence and traffic resulting in delaying their travels hence the option for pirating taxis or hiking which seems to be very convenient for the commuters who claim to have freedom of choice, and they often avoid the taxi rank because they receive poor service.
“People end up avoiding the taxi rank because of the poor service that they get. QWAUTA also thinks that they have power over us, but this is a free country, and we have the freedom of choice. If residents avoid your taxis rather focus on what you are doing wrong and try to fix your operations, using force to try to get people to use taxis at the taxi ranks will not help, rather fix yourselves,” Martin Leeaba said.
Sharing the same sentiments Tshidey Raputsoane said the following, “A person sits for the whole day at the taxi rank, and this is inconvenient because we have errands to run.”“The problem is also that the drivers at the taxi ranks go home at 17:00pm while the pirate taxis that they hate so much takes us straight home safely,” Maleeto Mokoena said.
Following this impasse the chairperson of QWAUTA, Matshediso Nteo has issued a stern warning to Qwaqwa residents that they must brace themselves for a tough week ahead since the association has decided to stop their taxis from operating following conflict that unfolded between pirate taxi drivers and legal taxi drivers of the association on 2 October.In an interview with the media the following is what Nteo said.
Phuthaditjhaba town stands still as taxi operators down tools.
“Residents must prepare themselves for our taxis not to be operating tomorrow because the police and government are not helping us with the conflict that we are having with the taxi drivers who do not have permits. We appointed our own men to police this situation by redirecting people to QWAUTA taxi ranks but the police have since arrested eight of them. The residents also cause us to fight because they are always in a hurry and prefer to use these illegal taxis, which is wrong.”
In an interview with this publication police spokesperson in the Thabo Mofutsanyana district Warrant Officer Mmako Mophiring said so far six people have been arrested for extortion and they will appear in court on the morning of October 3, 2024.
