The SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) meter taxi is taking a step into the fourth industrial revolution with the launch of electric-powered vehicles.
Santaco meter taxi deputy chairperson Sibongiseni Shange told Sunday World that the taxi organisation has secured a partnership with Haval, which will supply the electric vehicles.
“We are aware of the loadshedding challenges faced in the country, this is why we also forged a partnership with a technology company that would build charging stations, especially for us, and this will be nationwide,” Shange said.
“The charging stations will be powered by solar systems and this will emphasize on our dream to go green.
“The reason we opted for electric cars is because we wanted to reduce carbon emissions and cut down on operation costs. If you charge for 45 minutes, you will be able to drive 400 kilometres.”
He said the electric-powered meter taxis are expected to start operating in the next two months.
In an effort to make the best out of the meter taxi space, the organisation has also partnered with Teta and Sky is the Limit training company to help drivers become entrepreneurs instead of living hand-to-mouth.
Santaco spokesperson Rebecca Phala said having meter taxis join the principal representative body of the South African taxi industry is a big step toward the formation of unity in the transportation space.
She noted that it had been assumed that the minibus taxi space was trying to claim monopoly in the industry, saying this has instead proven to be a move that seeks to unify the industry.
“We are focused on keeping peace in the industry. We all understand that taxi ranks are for minibus taxis, so this is why there would be confusion and altercation when another mode of transport operates from the taxi rank.
“We need a clear legislation that is documented to create a clear picture who gets to operate where and when. Also, we cannot stop people from choosing what kind of transportation they want, and so we need to be unified,” said Phala.
She added that Santaco backs a unified working environment, even with e-hailing services, to avoid violence in the industry such as an incident at Maponya Mall in Soweto where the drivers of e-hailing services were attacked and their vehicles torched.
“Police investigation is still ongoing, we are therefore not sure if it is true that they were attacked by minibus taxi drivers. We are fully cooperative with the police, so we can find the truth and avoid these situations in future.”
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