Pretoria- Joburg’s transport MMC Kenny Kunene has established a committee to deal with the ongoing violence between minibus taxi and e-hailing operators in Soweto.
Kunene met with Soweto taxi bosses and e-hailing operators on Friday.
The meeting was held to finalise details which were discussed at the first meeting held on Wednesday.
Kunene said a committee with various stakeholders including representatives from the SAPS, Soweto Shopping Centres, the government and state security, has been established to look into the prevailing issues.
He said the committee was tasked with coming up with tangible solutions.
“It was established that at the centre of the violence is the issue of illegal operators. This is a major cause of concern for not only the the formalized e-hailing operators and taxi associations, but the community as a whole,“ he said.
To combat the violence, Kunene said they reached a number of resolutions which include beefing up security at the malls by putting additional cameras with AI capabilities, and also deploy more public order officers and JMPD officers.
“Taxi associations will also deploy marshals that will assist with illegal operators and assist the e-hailing operators.“
He added that the initial agreement which was made concerning e-hailing cabs operating outside malls for three months, still stands.
Further more, Kunene cautioned the public from using illegal hailing operators.
“Soweto parliament will assist with educating residents on the risks of using illegal operators.”
Meanwhile, Melithemba Mnguni, Secretary of the E-Hailing Partners Council, told IOL that there was another committee meeting that will be held on 19 June.
Started the day in Soweto to resolve the issues around e hailing attacks. I am grateful for the progress made today and I salute all the stakeholders, SAPS,taxi associations, ehailing reps, Soweto Parliament and everyone who made today a success. We meet again on Friday. pic.twitter.com/uleaopxloF
— Kenny Kunene (@Kenny_T_Kunene) June 7, 2023
IOL