Taxi Industry Vows to Violently Disrupt Cape Town's Transit Plans

Taxi officials in the Western Cape have vowed to violently disrupt the implementation of Cape Town's Integrated Rapid Transit system. This is despite efforts by officials to bring taxis into the Integrated Rapid Transit system planning. Taxi leaders say those efforts have not been enough.

The Western Cape National Taxi Alliance (WC-NTA) made the threat after the city announced that it had appointed a company to operate the buses, bringing it one step closer to launching the project's first phase.

A report by Mike Marsden, executive director of the major projects department, said the city had signed a contract with TransPeninsula, a company formed by inner-city taxi associations, to provide vehicle operator services until October. This will include transport during the World Cup. According to the report, the agreement is the first in SA to incorporate the taxi industry into the IRT.

Cape taxi body threatens to thwart IRT
Cape Times
May 5, 2010