‘A national affordability crisis’: National Taxi Alliance threatens protests
· Citizen
The National Taxi Alliance (NTA) has threatened to protest if transport minister Barbara Creecy does not respond to its requests within 14 calendar days.
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The alliance says it is being crushed by unaffordable operating costs, as fuel, vehicle finance, maintenance, tyres, insurance, regulatory compliance, and other operating expenses rise.
“Operators cannot simply pass those costs on to passengers,” spokesperson Theo Malele said.
He said when operators fail, commuters lose access to work, education, healthcare and economic opportunity.
Malele called the situation a “taxi industry crisis” and called for serious engagements and workable solutions to public transportation issues.
“This is not merely a taxi-industry crisis,” Malele emphasised. “It is a national mobility and household affordability crisis.”
‘Workable solutions’
The NTA has urged government to introduce a targeted fuel rebate for qualifying minibus taxi operators for a minimum period of twelve months while broader economic and public-transport reforms are finalised.
Adding that this relief must be properly administered, auditable, and linked to licensed public passenger operations.
“Government already has regulatory, licensing, and electronic payment tools that can be used to verify eligible operators and control abuse,” Malele said.
‘No excuses’
He said that administrative inconvenience is not a credible excuse for allowing an essential transport industry to buckle, and a temporary fuel rebate would protect both operators and commuters.
“It would reduce immediate operating pressure and help limit fare increases that millions of households cannot afford.”
The reality of minibus financing
Malele said that operators report vehicle-finance rates ranging from approximately 12% to 15.5%, frequently combined with repayment periods extending to 74 or even 80 months.
“These terms may reduce the monthly instalment on paper, but they prolong indebtedness and can leave an operator paying for a vehicle that has already reached an age at which it becomes increasingly expensive, unsafe, and uneconomical to operate,” Malele expressed.
‘Where are the measurable results?’
Creecy has publicly stated that the government is committed to working with the industry to reduce the cost of repaying new vehicles.
Malele said that such an intervention must deliver transparent and affordable finance, genuine de-risking mechanisms, fair loan structures, and repayment periods aligned with the safe and economical operating life of a taxi.
He also requested a written response and a concrete implementation programme to address the taxi industry’s needs and demands.
Threat of a strike
He noted that the Minister entered office amidst considerable expectation that she would address the long-standing exclusion, financial distress, and unequal treatment of the industry.
But he emphasised that another invitation to a workshop, another vague undertaking or another announcement without budgets and deadlines, will not be accepted as a response.
“If government again chooses delay over delivery, the NTA will begin consultations and mobilisation for a lawful national protest march to deliver a memorandum of grievances.
“Minister Creecy must decide whether she intends to govern or merely to make promises South Africa’s taxi operators and commuters cannot afford,” Malele concluded.