Minibus taxi bodies in the Western Cape have hailed the reopening of the contentious B97 route as a major milestone towards establishing lasting peace.
The announcement by Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell comes almost 18 months after he ordered the closure of the route between Bellville and Paarl due to fighting between the major taxi bodies, Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) and Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta).
A conflict between the parties over who had the legitimate right to operate on that route left at least 24 people dead, 29 injured and scores of minibus passengers stranded.
Mitchell said the two bodies had now reached an agreement regarding operations on the route in line with the arbitrations ruling.
Today (Thursday), Mitchell is expected to issue 50 new operating licences, a decision which both taxi bodies welcomed.
Spokesperson for the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco), Makhosonke Tumana, said: "The reopening of the route is a major achievement for the taxi industry in the province. It's taken sweat and blood to reach this stage. We thank the leadership of Santaco for its commitment towards reaching a solution.“
Tumana said although the new 50 operating licences would not be split on an equal basis, both parties were satisfied with the allocation.
Codeta also welcomed the re-opening of the route and confirmed that the organisation had signed a memorandum of agreement with Cata and would honour the agreement.
"We are pleased that at last we would be able to serve our customers once again who had felt the pinch of the closure,“ said the organisation in a statement.
The taxi route was closed on July 26 2021 after the Codeta affiliate, the Paarl Alliance Taxi Association and Cata Boland, both claimed the right to operate on the route.
Several attempts were made to reach an agreement, including interventions by politicians, and Mitchell ordered an arbitration process.
"All parties agreed, in line with the arbitration award, to co-exist and to provide bi-directional services," said Mitchell.
Weekend Argus