The shutdown of Eastern Cape roads by taxi operators over four-month payment delays for scholar transport services, which caused chaos in the province yesterday, has been suspended. This after a meeting in East London between taxi council leaders and provincial transport leaders, including Oscar Mabuyane who is said to have joined telephonically.
The forgotten roads between East London and its surrounding towns and coastal villages have deteriorated into hazardous daily commutes for residents, whose attempts to patch up their disintegrating routes is a never-ending nightmare. Buffalo Pass was the symbolic launching pad of the national pothole repair operation Vala Zonke.
E-hailing drivers are allegedly being bullied by taxi drivers who will not allow them to fetch their customers at convenient spots such as Hemingways Mall.Some say they are being chased by taxi operators.
East London motorists are up in arms over the shocking condition of the city's roads, with huge potholes endangering lives and costing a fortune in vehicle and tyre repairs.Voortrekker Road, especially from the Highgate Hotel to the Johnson & Johnson factory, is notorious.
A Santaco taxi association faction led by prominent taxi operator Gabs Mtshala has called on the Eastern Cape government to withhold the grant paid to the industry to keep its operations afloat.