Johnathan Paoli
The South African National Taxi Council’s application to interdict impoundments by the City of Cape Town has been dismissed in the Western Cape high court on Friday.
This follows on Santaco taking the City of Cape Town to court on Thursday, claiming the continued impounding of taxis occurred on grounds not included in the agreement reached between the two parties earlier.
The court responded on Thursday, giving both Santaco and the City until Friday to facilitate a mutual understanding over agreed conditions for impoundment.
However, the ruling will allow for the continued impoundment of vehicles under the terms of the National Land Transportation Act.
On Thursday, both the Western Cape as well as the City of Cape Town welcomed the application as an opportunity to clarify and make binding the agreed terms negotiated by the task team.
The judgement clearly stipulates that vehicles can only be impounded if they operate without permits, if the driver does not have a licence or public driving permit, or where vehicles are not roadworthy.
This would hopefully settle tensions as members of the police have been accused by Santaco of continuing a culture of persecution against taxi operators, with allegations of threats of impounding for reasons such as driving on an incorrect route.
The legal enforcement of the agreed terms between Santaco and the City will hopefully aid in the deescalation of potential conflict between members of the metro police and taxi operators.
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