Taxis have barricaded major roadways across the Durban area on Friday morning, leaving motorists stranded in kilometres-long traffic congestion.
Speaking to IOL, the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) said their council did not mandate the protest and Santaco distanced itself from the protest.
Santaco blamed the protest on politicians who wanted to use taxi drivers to cause disruptions ahead of the May 29 elections.
Several routes across the city, including Greyville and parts of the N3 highway remain gridlocked with reports of burning tyres being placed along roads.
Santaco KZN’s Sifiso Shangase said the council was trying to establish who was behind the protest.
“Our taxi drivers are being used. We did not mandate this protest,” Shangase said.
“As a council, we do not belong to any political parties but there are politicians who are involved in the taxi industry. As much as there are taxis involved, we did not mandate this protest.”
Garrith Jamieson of ALS Paramedics said the N3 interchange was gridlocked.
“Both sides of the highway in the vicinity of the Pavilion Shopping Centre are affected. The N3 Pinetown-bound is gridlocked. A truck is parked across the road. The area is at a standstill. It is a no-go. Cars are stacked for kilometres. People are getting out of taxis and walking to work,” Jamieson said.
Umgeni, Sandile Thusi Road (Argyle) and Greyville are also heavily affected. Burning tyres have been placed along roads in Greyville.
Major traffic jams reported across Durban due to taxi protest.@IOL pic.twitter.com/iaMq0x4QAh
— llɒᴙ ɘᴎᴎA⁻ɘꙄ (@seannerall) May 24, 2024
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