Cape's top taxi offenders rack up 466 fines

Cape Town - Minibus taxis have long been a major cause of frustration for Cape Town’s motorists.

JP Smith, from the city’s safety and security and social services portfolio, said the behaviour of minibus operators was “one of the most prominent complaints we have (received) at the call centre”.

Smith confirmed plans were in the pipeline to “make the enforcement efforts a great deal more effective and will radically change the driving behaviour of public transport drivers”.

He was referring to the proposed amendment of the operating licence conditions for taxi operators.

The Western Cape government aims to have the new laws in effect by the end of the year.

Under the new legislation, vehicles could be impounded for various traffic offences.

The fees to get them released from the pound lot won't change, but they're still pretty steep at R7500 the first time, and R10000 for the second offence.

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On Thursday, the Weekend Argus spent some time with the traffic department's Ghost Squad, observing taxi driver behaviour in the afternoon peak period.

There's always a particular focus on the Hospital Bend outbound, where taxis routinely break the law. A driver was issued a R1500 fine for driving on the shoulder of the road.

A taxi driver is arrested on Nelson Mandela Boulevard for operating with a cancelled permit and reckless driving on Thursday. Picture Henk Kruger/ANA

Another minibus taxi driver was arrested when he tried to evade a traffic officer who had signalled him to pull over. He was found to be driving with a cancelled taxi permit.

Traffic authorities have confirmed they have stepped up enforcement efforts.

They’ve also been getting a helping hand from the city’s CCTV operations centre.

Barry Schuller, director of CCTV for the metro police department, said: “Our mobile video unit goes around and monitors areas that are too dangerous for our officers to pull over vehicles. It is also where we capture a high amount of traffic violations.

“Our CCTV control centre mostly deals with crime, but if we do see transgressions on our cameras we issue traffic tickets via our postage system.

“For most of our video footage, which is used for prosecutions, the offenders hardly go to court, because we have the evidence on footage. People are a bit embarrassed to show the magistrate their offences.”

As things stand, the top 10 taxi offenders account for 466 fines valued at R423810.

The traffic department said the most common violations included cutting-in after passing, overtaking or driving on the shoulder of the roadway.

If lawmakers have their way, the taxi industry will soon be in for a long-overdue overhaul.