Big news for taxi commuters!

TAXI associations in Soweto have threatened a total shut down for Wednesday, 10 April.

However, the shut down was called off.

The United Taxi Association Front (Utaf) had requested all their taxis not to go to work from Wednesday, 10 April until further notice.

In their advisory, deputy secretary-general Innocent Maseko said: "The Utaf chairpersons' forum took time to visit Wata amid the challenges faced by the association.

"The chairpersons had an extensive engagement and resolved that, since they will be seeking a meeting with the Gauteng premier and Gauteng transport MEC in an attempt to find a permanent solution to the Wata/Nanduwe longstanding conflict, for this reason, all associations are requested to embark on a solidarity stay-away.

"Therefore, the request to Utaf affiliates is that all taxis should not go to work from this coming Wednesday (10 April 2024) until further notice to highlight the scourge of taxi violence and the government's lack of will to implement court orders whenever they are issued."

This comes after Monday morning, 8 April saw many commuters being stranded as tensions between the two taxi associations in Soweto threatened violence.

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The conflict between the Nancefield-Dube West Taxi Association (Nanduwe) and the Witwatersrand Taxi Association (Wata) is over routes.

Wata spokesman Hamilton Miya said the shut down has been cancelled and that the association is planning to go back to work on Thursday, 11 April.

He showed Daily Sun the court order, which states that Wata is authorised (as per its operating licence) to operate on the routes stipulated.

It further stated that, during the week of 26 February 2024, the first respondent, Nanduwe, allegedly threatened, intimidated, and harassed Wata from operating on the routes above.

Wata then approached the high court for an interim order, interdicting the first respondent from interfering and intimidating them from operating on the six routes pending the outcome and finalisation of the arbitration proceedings, and for law enforcement to intervene and ensure that Wata is not intimated and threatened from operating on the routes by the first respondent.