Illegal taxis under scrutiny in Swakopmund

The Swakopmund municipality is verifying 713 taxis on its database while traffic officers enforce against illegal operators, including Yango-linked vehicles, which officials say have become a concern in the town’s public transport sector.

Municipal traffic superintendent Trudi Xoagus said the taxi census is not a new registration process but a verification exercise to ensure that the municipality’s database matches the taxis operating in Swakopmund.

She said the municipality has been registering taxis for almost 10 years, but operators do not always report changes when permit ownership changes or when vehicles listed on permits are replaced.

“What we’re doing now is just trying to verify what we have on our database is consistent with our physical taxis," she said.

She confirmed that the 713 figure refers to taxis or permits currently registered on the municipal database.

Xoagus said the municipality does not expect widespread non-compliance with the census, as it is only a verification exercise. However, operators who do not participate will be investigated.

She said failure to take part could indicate that a taxi is operating illegally or that the vehicle is not roadworthy.

“Action will be taken,” she said.

Xoagus said enforcement is already taking place at the same time as the census.

“While others are verifying, other officers are on the lookout for the illegal guys,” she said.

Small numbers

She estimated that illegal or unverified operators in Swakopmund are “definitely not less than 50”, including Yango-linked vehicles.

According to Xoagus, some Yango drivers or vehicles operate contrary to requirements, which has become a growing concern for law enforcement.

She said this is causing “confusion and unhappiness from the legal and registered taxis”.

Swakopmund Taxi Association secretary Elias Tobias said the association supports the census because it will help law enforcement identify illegal taxis operating among registered taxis.

E-hailing services

Tobias said the association’s main concern is illegal taxis and some Yango vehicles.

He said the association does not object to registered Yango vehicles operating through the app but is concerned about vehicles marked as 'Yango' operating like registered taxis.

The municipality previously introduced large taxi numbers to make registered taxis easier to identify. Xoagub said the numbers are also displayed on rear windscreens so that vehicles can be identified from behind.

The Swakopmund concerns come amid national scrutiny of e-hailing operators.

Namibian Sun recently reported that transport authorities have insisted that e-hailing drivers must comply with public passenger permit requirements. It was also reported that transport minister Veikko Nekundi said each person transporting passengers must have a road carrier permit.

Yango has previously said it supports compliance and is working with independent fleet partners to meet regulatory requirements. Yango has also stated that it does not own vehicles or employ drivers directly but works with local vehicle owners and companies.