Johannesburg – Taxi drivers in Johannesburg said they were back at work on Tuesday morning not because they had accepted government’s relief fund, but because they understood the importance of the service they offered to South Africans.
Operations were in full swing in taxi ranks after Monday’s shut down by the South African National Taxi Association (Santaco) in Gauteng.
Taxi operators rejected a R1.1 billion relief fund from the Department of Transport saying it was not enough as it translated to only R5,000 per vehicle and they needed R20,000 per taxi.
Taxi drivers ferried passengers in the morning, hoping to make up for the losses of Monday’s strike.
“It doesn’t mean that we have accepted government’s relief fund, but we are back at work this morning because our customers need to get back to work and school. We are thinking about their needs,” said one taxi driver.
The drivers expressed that the strike had dented their already thin finances.
Taxi bosses said they also wanted government to allow them to load their vehicles to full capacity, despite Covid-19 social distancing regulations,
