By Johnathan Paoli
The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) has said that individual taxi operators, acting through their associations, will determine their own prices as commuters brace for a steep fuel-price increase from midnight on Tuesday.
SANTACO said in a statement late on Monday night that no uniform fare increase had been declared, although some associations had already started communicating increases to commuters.
“We call on government to immediately provide clear direction on fuel price expectations and to work with us on practical relief measures,” SANTACO President Abnar Tsebe said.
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It said reports of fuel shortages, caps on refuelling volumes and rising diesel prices were already affecting daily taxi operations.
The association said it would urgently press government on a commuter-centred subsidy model, temporary fuel-levy relief for public transport operators and measures to prioritise fuel access for transport services that move workers and schoolchildren every day.
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources adjusts fuel prices monthly based on international and local factors, including crude oil prices, product import costs and the rand-dollar exchange rate.
While the official April retail adjustment had not yet been published at the time of writing, petrol is expected to increase by more than R5 a litre and diesel by roughly R10.
Part of that increase is already locked in through tax changes that take effect on 1 April.
The general fuel levy will increase by nine cents a litre on petrol and eight cents on diesel, the carbon fuel levy by five cents on petrol and six cents on diesel, and the Road Accident Fund levy by seven cents a litre on both fuels.
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The pressure comes from global energy-market turmoil.
The department said earlier this month that it was monitoring the impact of the US-Israel-Iran war and warned that rising international crude prices were likely to push pump prices higher from April.
The department and the Fuels Industry Association later said South Africa’s fuel supply remained stable in the immediate term and urged the public not to panic-buy, saying isolated logistical problems did not amount to a national shortage.