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8 July 2022 Year 32 Vol: 43
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Price shock for commuters Taxi and bus fares go up with between 8% and 30% in the bigger towns. In areas such as Nzhelele, taxis have already increased their fares. A trip Commuters will have to fork out a from Siloam to Louis Trichardt or to lot more for taxi and bus fares in Thohoyandou now costs R30, a 20% future, with prices rising by anyincrease from the R25 charged last thing between 8% and 30%. Some month. For someone working in town, of the increases have already been this would mean an additional R210 implemented, while others are set to per month. become effective next week. The steep rise in tariffs also affects The price increase will have a devas- commuters travelling by taxi from the tating effect on already cash-strapped Kutama area to Louis Trichardt. The consumers, meaning that commuters Dzanani Taxi Association announced from outlying areas will have to pay a that a ticket for such a trip will now lot more per month to travel to work 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 The secretary-general of the Vhembe District Taxi Council (VDTC), Mr such a trip now costs R80. The same tariff applies to the Musina-to-Louis Tshimangadzo Mphigalale. Photo: Trichardt route. Commuters wanting Victor Mukwevho. By Kaizer Nengovhela and Victor Mukwevho
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
Commuters about to get on a bus in Louis Trichardt on Wednesday morning. Photo: Kaizer Nengovhela 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. (Continues on page 2)
Prices valid 24 June - 24 July 2022