The 4 plus 1 taxi association in Mamelodi, Tshwane has called on passengers not to ride in taxis (known as small business) that don’t have visible number plate stickers on the windscreen.
The association launched their campaign at Tshwane Regional Mall on Wednesday where hundreds of taxis were given highly visible number plate stickers that would be placed on the front as well as the back windscreens to identify them as genuine 4 plus taxis.
Chairperson of 4 plus 1 taxi association Jabu Mashifane told Tshwane Talks that they received lots of complaints from passengers that were mugged while riding in vehicles that they thought were 4 plus 1 taxi in Mamelodi and Nellmapius.
We decided to come up with a solution that would help our passengers to easily identify a genuine taxi so that they are safe from all the crimes committed against the passengers,” Jabu said.
“This method will also help passengers to identify a taxi if they happen to lose their valuable assets while riding or when they experience problems with the driver.
He said all taxi owners and drivers have been given until 15 November 2023 to put in the number plate stickers on the windscreen or else they won’t operate on the road.
Spokesperson of taxi owners of 4 plus 1 taxi association Bongani Masilela said “This is for the safety of our passengers and drivers, and we call upon community to ride taxis with stickers only.
Small business taxi operator Moses Lebeya said he’s been driving taxi for more than 10 years and it has helped him to support his family and he is happy with the new number plates stickers and it will protect the passengers and also the drivers.
Taxi operator Nhlanhla Baloyi, who has been driving for a year, says he feels safe with this new number plate stickers as there are drivers who do bad things on the road and they are tarnishing the image of the 4 plus 1 driver.
“My passengers will ride with confidence in my taxi and I call on passengers to ride taxis with stickers only,” he said.
