Taxi protest causes traffic chaos in Hout Bay

Taxis blockaded a thoroughfare at a central traffic circle in Hout Bay on Friday morning in an apparent protest over taxi routes.

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Cape Town - Taxis blockaded a thoroughfare at a central traffic circle in Hout Bay on Friday morning as tensions between drivers over routes reached breaking point, causing a traffic jam and taxi passenger queues that lasted for hours.

The vehicles blocked off the entrance to Hout Bay Road, other routes and the informal settlement of Imizamo Yethu. Later they were towed away by City of Cape Town traffic officials with a large contingent of metro police, police and riot police in attendance.

Scores of commuters who set out at 5am were still waiting for transport five hours later. Residents said that some taxi drivers ran away after spotting police while others were arrested for reckless and negligent driving.

Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Andre Traut said: "This office can confirm that a taxi-related protest action is being monitored in Hout Bay. Police are deployed to maintain law and order, and no one has been arrested as yet."

A taxi driver, blending in with residents, told the Cape Argus that tensions had been brewing for weeks: "The fight between taxi drivers started when some picked up commuters that were not part of their route... police showed up quickly and there was no time for violence. What the taxi drivers are doing now is blocking off the routes to Wynberg. This has been going on since early this morning."

A woman passenger, who also asked not to be named, said: "We saw the taxis blocking the way. We were waiting here for four hours."

gadeeja.abbas@inl.co.za

Cape Argus