By Kaizer Nengovhela and Victor Mukwevho
Commuters will have to fork out a lot more for taxi and bus fares in future, with prices rising by anything between 8% and 30%. Some of the increases have already been implemented, while others are set to become effective next week.
The price increase will have a devastating effect on already cash-strapped consumers, meaning that commuters from outlying areas will have to pay a lot more per month to travel to work in the bigger towns.
In areas such as Nzhelele, taxis have already increased their fares. A trip from Siloam to Louis Trichardt or to Thohoyandou now costs R30, a 20% increase from the R25 charged last month. For someone working in town, this would mean an additional R210 per month.
The steep rise in tariffs also affects commuters travelling by taxi from the Kutama area to Louis Trichardt. The Dzanani Taxi Association announced that a ticket for such a trip will now cost R25, instead of the R20 charged before.
A trip from Madombidzha, Magau and Tshikhwani to Louis Trichardt will now cost R20, compared to the R16 commuters used to pay. From Tshiozwi, Madabani, Ravele and Ramantsha and Gogobole, commuters will now have to pay R23, instead of R18, which is a 28% increase.
The picture looks just as bad for long-distance travellers. The Makhado Long Distance Taxi Association announced that a R10 increase was implemented on the Louis Trichardt-to-Polokwane route. A ticket for such a trip now costs R80. The same tariff applies to the Musina-to-Louis Trichardt route. Commuters wanting to travel to Johannesburg will now have to pay R350, instead of the R300 charged before.
As far as the routes to and from Elim are concerned, the increases were more moderate. A trip by taxi from Elim to Louis Trichardt used to cost R18, but now costs R20. A similar trip by bus will cost a commuter now R15, compared to the R13 before.
Bus fares go up by 8%
Bus fares have also increased on most of the routes. Phadziri Bus Services said that an 8% increase was implemented on monthly bus tickets. Commuters who travel from Midoroni in the Kutama area will now have to pay R416 for a monthly ticket, compared to the R385 they paid before. All monthly tickets have increased by R31, whereas day tickets have increased by R3 per trip.
Mabirimisa Bus Services did not state by what percentage their rates would increase, but this will seemingly also be in the region of 8%. A monthly ticket from an area such as Dopeni to Louis Trichardt will now cost R478. Commuters travelling from Khalavha to Polokwane will now have to pay R1 512 per month.
The Do Light bus company's supervisor, Mr Falaza Baloyi, said that all the local bus companies had increased their fares by 8% as from last Friday. He said the subsidy that the bus companies received from the government was not sufficient to cover the shortfalls.
Baloyi said that their monthly costs, such as maintenance and insurance, were continuously rising. Replacing old buses is also very expensive. "Filling a bus with diesel used to cost R25 000. Now that the price of diesel is up, we are going to fork out about R30 000," he said. A bus servicing a route must be filled up after four days, he said. Baloyi reckoned that government would have to look at increasing the subsidies for bus companies, otherwise their businesses would collapse in the not-too-distant future.
"Increases are unavoidable"
The secretary-general of the Vhembe District Taxi Council (VDTC), Mr Tshimangadzo Mphigalale, says that the taxi fares in the areas where they operate will increase on 15 July. According to Mphigalale, the VDTC's management committee, which represents 18 taxi associations, had an urgent meeting late last week and it was decided to increase tariffs.
He said the increase was forced by the ever-increasing fuel price in the country. "We had no other choice but to hike the price. Remember that the taxi association was affected badly by the Covid-19 pandemic since 2020. When we were trying to come back into the business, the fuel price kept increasing all the time. We cannot even afford to pay monthly instalments for the taxis, let alone pay the taxi drivers," he said.
Mphigalale said that in 2019, when the price of a new taxi was about R470 000, a litre of petrol cost roughly R19. "Now the price of a new taxi is R536 000, and one litre of fuel costs almost R27. It is really hard in our industry. Our taxis are being impounded every day," he said.
When asked about the government's undertaking to talk to the banks to give them a breather from paying their instalments during the Covid 19 period, he said the government liked lying to the public whenever crises arose in the business community.
"Instead of bailing us out, the government went behind our backs and encouraged the banks to repossess our taxis when we failed to pay our monthly instalments. As we speak, we are on our own. The government has not assisted us, except the R5 000 for the relief fund. What can you do with R5 000 when you owe the bank more than half a million?" he asked.
Makhado Long Distance Taxi Association (Malta) secretary, Mr Chris Makananise, said that the increase in fuel prices would affect all commuters. He said the timing of the latest increases in fuel was disastrous, because people were already suffering. "If I increase my price due to the high petrol price, everyone will be affected, from the pupils to the parents," he said. Makananise said that they had no option but to increase the fares.