Commuters dread higher travel costs as Putco fare hike set to take effect

Minibus taxi fares are set to increase exponentially hitting hard-pressed commuters in the pocket, due to increasing fuel prices.

South African National Taxi Council spokesperson Rebecca Phala said the body advised affiliates to limit increases short distances to between R3 and R6, and long distance between R10 and R30.

Operators had merely been advised on possible increases.

This week bus operator Putco also announced it will implement a 10% fare increase from June 1 due to the rising price of diesel caused by the Middle East conflict. This means on average, a monthly bus ride from Soweto to Johannesburg and back could cost as much as R171 more a month from June.

Putco said the highest weekly fare increase commuters will face is R43, while from June 1 some monthly commuters could pay up to R171 more.

Phala said: “We haven’t necessarily imposed when they can increase their fares, but we only told them to increase locally by R3 to R6 and long distance between R10 and R30. But they are increasing, I just don’t have the exact areas or month they will be increasing.”

Buhle Mashinini, who travels daily from Soweto to Fourways, said the increase will severely affect her already strained finances. “This is going to hit my pocket very hard because I am already spending R1,375, and this means I’ll pay R137.50 more from June. It’s going to be too much for me. My salary is not enough, and I don’t know how I will balance my finances,” she said.

Another commuter, Sabelo Nhlapo, said he was unaware that fares would be going up and now needs to rework his monthly budget because he will be paying R150 more for his monthly travel.

“It’s going to be a problem because I travel from Protea Glen to Randburg, and that costs me around R38 daily. I fill out my coupon monthly, and it’s over R1,500 already,” he said.

Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said: “Most commuters purchase weekly tickets, and according to the company’s calculations, the highest weekly fare currently stands at R431. With the 10% increase, that ticket will cost R474, translating to an increase of R43 per week.”

Xulu said monthly tickets are less commonly used by commuters and the highest monthly fare currently costs R1,981. After the increase, the fare will rise to R2,342, meaning commuters will pay about R171 more per month.

Taxi operators say there is no official nationwide increase in taxi fares at this stage, despite earlier recommendations for local routes to increase by between R3 and R6, and long-distance routes by between R10 and R30.

SAouth African National Taxi Council spokesperson Rebecca Phala said operators had merely been advised on possible increases.

Gauteng Bus Services spokesperson Albi Modise confirmed that the company is expected to announce its own fare increases soon.

However, both Rea Vaya and Metrobus say commuters will not immediately be affected by recent fuel price increases.

Rea Vaya spokesperson Benny Makgoga said government-subsidised transport services do not adjust fares during a financial year in response to fuel price changes. “At the moment, even if there are fluctuations in petrol prices, we are not increasing our fares. The only increase will be the normal annual adjustment for the new financial year from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, and this also applies to Metrobus,” he said.