After nearly eighteen months of closure, I declare the minibus-taxi route between Mbekweni (Paarl) and Bellville officially open starting from today, Thursday 8 December 2022.
I closed the route in July 2021 when I invoked my powers in terms of section 91 of the National Land Transport Act (5 of 2009) following continuous incidents of violence between members of the rival associations over control of the route. This section of the legislation allows the MEC responsible for Transport in the province to declare an area as high-risk in respect of taxi violence and to close affected ranks and routes where the safety of passengers and people entering the area has degenerated to an unacceptable level.
To minimise disruptions to travel patterns, I authorized Golden Arrow Bus Services to provide a replacement service for commuters while the route was closed. This service will continue to run in parallel with the taxi services until all valid tickets have been used.
The decision to…
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