Taxi drivers should not charge N$2

The president of the Namibian Transport and Taxi Union (NTTU), Werner Januarie, has called on taxi drivers not to increase taxi fares to N$12 until the union gets a response from the Ministry of Works and Transport.

The plea follows incidences of taxi drivers who are already charging the proposed fare to passengers in Windhoek on Sunday and Monday. “We want to put it on record that the N$12 has not been approved and we disapprove of drivers charging customers the additional N$2. They must wait until such a time that it has been approved by the ministry,” said Januarie

Januarie has called on the Minister of Works and Transport, Alpheus !Naruseb, to consider seeking the opinion of all stakeholders regarding the fare increment the union is requesting. “All stakeholders - especially all major stakeholders - must be consulted and not just one union’s request,” said Januarie. He suggested that the ministry consults commuters and investigates whether they will be able to afford the cab fare increase as requested. “The biggest component which has been neglected is the commuters and the clients themselves. Does the fare suit their pockets? They must consult all stakeholders,” said Januarie.

He says taxi drivers are tarnishing the reputation of the union and therefore should not charge the extra amount until an approval from the ministry is issued. “They are actually busy tarnishing the image of the organisation and we are very unhappy about it. They must please just be patient. There is no approval from our side and even the ministry and the taxi drivers should remain with the current N$10 fare,” pleaded Januarie

He added that the price hike is driven purely by operational and economic reasons. “The price of fuel has gone up several times and our operational costs also went up and that was one of the reasons we considered the N$2 increment,” said Januarie.

Shona Ngava