WORLDWIDE TAXI FOCUS from South Africa
CAPE TOWN CHAOS AS STRIKING TAXI OPERATORS TORCH BUSES
Two buses were set on fire on Monday 21 Nov- ember, in South Africa’s
Cape
Town as local taxi associations embarked on a two-day strike to protest against a termination of an incentive programme. The Western Cape provincial government, home to legislative capital Cape Town, recently announced it would terminate an incentive scheme for taxi drivers which encouraged safe driving practises and curtailed illegal operations. But due to a lack of funding it had to cancel the programme after a little more than a year, triggering an uproar from the taxi associations who called for a two-day strike in the city from Monday. There were long queues by 6am at bus stops as people waited for transport to go to work and to school. A bus was attacked by an unidentified person, who shot at the tyres to stop it from operating, a witness said, adding people jumped from the windows with a woman suffering injuries. JP Smith, manager of safety and security of Cape Town, confirmed there had been several incidents during the morning involving buses, but the situation was under control. “The buses are running and they are being escorted by the police,” he said.
PASSENGERS TAKE THE WHEEL FROM RECKLESS SOWETO CABBIE
Passengers in South Africa sent their taxi driver to the back seat, reprimanded him for reckless driving and proceeded to drive the taxi on his behalf. A series of videos on social media show how passengers on a taxi trip in Soweto put their foot down and held their driver accountable. In the first video, a woman can be heard asking the
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driver to turn down the music and reduce his speed. The driver’s reaction was to really slow down, a response that angered the commuters. “We have children. We complained about the speed and reckless driving, and you responded by driving at zero. At least drive at 60 [km/h] and be reasonable because you’re an adult” the passengers, mostly women, said to the driver. The third video shows the driver moving to the back seat of his minibus taxi. A female passenger takes over the wheel and continues to drive the car while the rest of the passengers continue to scold him to show him the error of his ways.
from USA
NYC TAXI FARES RISING 23 PER CENT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2012
New Yorkers will soon see a sig- nificant increase in yellow taxi fares for the first time in a decade. The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission voted on Tuesday 15 November to raise the price by 23%. The rate will also impact Uber and Lyft, who will increase their charge per-mile and minute. The commission also voted to up the cost of airport rates, overnight rides and travel during rush hour. The move will contribute to the increased pay of drivers. “After a year of drivers having to choose between food and fuel, and a decade of stagnation and loss for yellow cab drivers, we’re relieved to see the raise be voted on,” said a New York Taxi Workers Alliance spokesperson. The change will result in the average cab ride increasing from about $15.97 to $19.62. Yellow cab riders will see the changes before the new year. New York commuters can expect the metered rate of cabs to increase by 50 cents to $3. Travellers heading home after work can expect to see an additional $1.50 cent hike in their rate with a $2.50 rush hour surcharge. The overnight surcharge also increased by 50 cents to $1 - and a ride from JFK airport is now set at $70 in comparison to $52. The number of taxi pickups in Manhattan is slowly beginning to climb again after plummeting in 2020.
DECEMBER 2022 PHTM
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