Routes dispute behind Joburg taxi protest

Taxi routes are believed to be at the heart of the protest that has brought traffic to a standstill in the Johannesburg City Centre on Tuesday.

Police and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department have deployed officers across the CBD to try to calm motorists caught up in the gridlock.

TMG Digital has reliably learned that the Witwatersrand Taxi Association is being accused of using a route from the City Centre to Rockville‚ Soweto without a proper permit.

Police say they had no information about the march but reacted to a tip-off about a road being blocked.

“Around midday we got information that [taxi drivers] from MTN taxi rank marched to the office of the premier. It was not clear what was their concern. What we are getting now is that they brought an memorandum of demands before and now they want to get answers about taxi routes‚” said police spokesperson Lt-Col Kay Makhubela.

Representatives from the taxi industry are currently meeting with senior staff from Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s office‚ the office of the MEC of Transport Ismail Vadi and JMPD to resolve the problems.

Taxi drivers have threatened to block roads again on Wednesday morning‚ including a major highway‚ if their demands are not met. — TMG Digital