Taxi commuters will be hit with hefty increases of up to R5, the highest in history as fuel prices and the cost of living continue to spiral.
The increases have been driven by the recent increases in the fuel price, which have threatened the sustainability of taxi operations.
The Automobile Association of SA said on Tuesday that the price of fuel is expected to rise by between R2,40 and R2,60 a litre and the price of diesel by about R2,40 on July 6.
In Johannesburg, the Witwatersrand African Taxi Owners Association (Wata), which moves people between Soweto and the inner city, said it will increase its fares by between R2 and R4 from July 15 while the Soweto Taxi Services (STS) will push theirs up by R5. This would mean a trip from Protea to the Joburg CBD, which now costs R22, will cost R27 from Friday.
Meanwhile, in Tshwane, the Mamelodi Amalgamated Taxi Association (Mata) said it will also increase its fares by R5 from Friday. The R5 hike is the biggest introduced by Mata and STS. A single trip from Mamelodi to the Pretoria CBD will now cost R25.
Nomaswazi Zikalala, 50, of Protea Glen in Soweto, works six days a week at a fast-food franchise in the Joburg CBD earning just under R8,500 a month. She lives with her two unemployed children.
She said she has to buy groceries, pay for electricity and for her granddaughter's crèche expenses. Currently, she spends R44 a day on taxi fare, which translates to R1,056 a month. After the increases, she will be spending R1,296 a month.
“I still have two burial societies to pay for monthly and a couple of clothing accounts that I need to make sure that we have clothes on our back. Unfortunately, debt is my only option to make sure I put clothes on my children’s backs.”
Mpho Mulaudzi of Soshanguve works in Johannesburg and earns R15,000 a month. Every day she takes take two taxis to work and another two back home. She used to pay R146 per round trip before last month's hike. She now forks out R160. It costs her R3,200 to go to work every month compared to the R2,920 she previously paid.
“I am currently on contract and with the money I get, I am playing catch up in a lot of things. I have to fix the house we live in, I have to help with toiletries for my brother while I also want things for myself,” said Mulaudzi.
Wata spokesperson Hamilton Miya said they had no option but to increase the fares to remain sustainable.
“The last time we increased our prices was three years ago because we are mindful of customers. If we could, we would increase prices by R10, if you just look at how much petrol has and is still going to increase by.
“If you can check how much cooking oil costs now, from R80 to R115 [for a two-litre], everything has gone up. On our side, we look at things like car spares and maintaining our cars,” Miya said.
He added that in determining the increase they considered the current economic challenges faced by commuters such as high unemployment and rising food inflation.
“We are all in the same sinking boat but to keep afloat we have to make these increases,” he said.
Japhta Maubane, training officer at Mata, said taxi owners are struggling to keep up with the cost of running their businesses.
“We are having serious challenges with the rate at which the price of fuel has risen. We anticipate that the fuel price will go up soon... As the price goes up, as an association we will not be able to raise the fares again. We will only be able to raise our fares in 12 months. The current increase is aimed at absorbing future fuel hikes.
“If we do not raise the fares as an industry we will not survive,” Maubane said.
In the Free State, Hendrik Krotz, chairperson of the Bronville Taxi Association in Welkom, said the organisation is considering increasing its fares by R3 in about two months’ time. This means a trip from Bronville township to Welkom town centre will now cost R15.
“Our drivers have not had an increase for almost a decade. We have to increase their salaries because of the level of food inflation that we see. They have been putting immense pressure on the association,” Krotz said.
Krotz said the last time the association raised its fares was four years ago when they increased their fares from R10 to R12.
Johannes Motloung, regional chairperson of the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) in Rustenburg, North West, said taxi associations in the area agreed to increase fares by R3 in May. This is the highest increase introduced by the association. Its last fare increase was a R2 hike three years ago.
In Limpopo, Santaco’s research & development officer Lesiba Mathobela said taxi fares in Polokwane are expected to go up in August. He said the increases will differ with interprovincial travel likely to increase by between R10 and R20.
Vuta Taxi Association in Mpumalanga increased fares by between R2 and R5.
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