That’s the backdrop to the flare-up of deadly violence over the Mbekweni, Paarl, and Bellville, Cape Town B97 route between the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) and Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata).
But the tensions have been simmering for about three years — and ripple into other Boland communities such as Ceres and Wellington, but also Somerset West in the Strand.
Route B97 has now been closed for two months — the stick to get Cata and Codeta to cease hostilities. The carrot is a series of interventions that unfolded over the past 10 days or so.
Crucially, both Cata and Codeta say they are committed to a ceasefire. As both point fingers at officialdom’s bias and regulatory ineffectiveness — each with their own spin — they’ve proposed so-called route compromises to settle differences.