Durban – Thousands of commuters have been left stranded in most parts of eThekwini after operators heeded the call by the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) to embark on a stay away.
Empty minibus taxis were parked at various ranks, which were deserted.
SANTACO in KwaZulu-Natal called for a two-day strike beginning Thursday, 4 September 2025, to press authorities to speed up the issuing of operating licences and stop the impounding of unlicensed minibus taxis until the backlog was cleared.
Amid the challenges raised by taxi operators, the eThekwini Metro Police impounded 25 minibus taxis between Clermont and Pinetown for operating without valid route permits.
Matters came to a head after taxi operators, this week, met with the Durban City Manager Musa Mbele, senior officials from the provincial Department of Transport, and councillors from Kwa-Dabeka, but failed to resolve the contentious issues.
Other matters discussed during the meeting include the impounding of vehicles without operating licences.
For their part, the municipality and the department proposed the following interventions in the taxi industry:
- Law enforcement across all transport service providers
- Police will exercise precautionary discretion in law enforcement
- Seven-seater vehicles will be subjected to full law enforcement
SANTACO head Mathula Mkhize said the stay away would continue on Friday, 5 September 2025.
All taxi associations in the province, including Clermont Taxi Owners and Kwa-Dabeka Taxi Associations, were participating in the stay away.
