Johannesburg taxi drivers to strike over new bus system

• published: 23 Jul 2015
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August 27, 2009 1. Wide street scene of the Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD) 2. Wide exterior of a new Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system station in the CBD 3. Close sign on the BRT station reading "Rea Vaya" 4. Close digital sign reading "Open", pull out to interior of the BRT station 5. Mid interior BRT station with construction workers adding the finishing touches 6. Wide taxi driving past the BRT station 7. Wide setup of Dumsani Langa driving his taxi past the camera 8. Mid setup of Langa driving his taxi 9. Langa's eyes in the rear-view mirror 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dumsani Langa, Taxi driver: "Usually, we make something like 600 Rand per day. So if there is this BRT, I don't think we'll be able to make that money again, because most of the people will be using buses." 11. Langa's hands on the steering wheel August 26, 2009 12. Wide setup of Gwede Mantashe, Secretary General of the ANC, address a breakfast briefing for journalists 13. Mid Mantashe speaking 14. SOUNDBITE (English) Gwede Mantashe, Secretary General, African National Congress (ANC) "No, no, we are not concerned. We will engage the taxi industry, but they must have the right to protest but they must not infringe the rights of others, because others will want to use alternative means of transport. Actually, I'm beginning to have a more cynical attitude towards protests of taxis, that it is justifying the importance of diversity of the means of transport." August 27, 2009 15. Wide exterior of a BRT station in the CBD of Johannesburg with people getting out of a taxi in the foreground 16. SOUNDBITE (English) Kingsley Ndlovu, 34, Commuter: "I have always had a problem with taxis, you know, the fact that before, yes, they were reliable but now the fact that, you know, if you get to work in a very comfortable zone and with the fact that it is a bus, in that comfort where you don't have to worry about the stress of traffic and all that kind of stuff, I will definitely use the bus." 17. SOUNDBITE (English) Kethiwe Simelani, 20, Commuter: "Most definitely! I love my people, the taxis and all, you know, that have been with us for quite some time, but we need change, we need change, it's all about change. We need things to change and we need things to be easier for us." 18. Wide shot of police next to the taxi 19. SOUNDBITE (English) Sydney Smith, 25, Commuter: "Well, I think it is a good system because it's going to make Joburg much safer and faster travel at night. Everybody is going to be safer on the roads also, because I think that people at the BRT are much safer by driving buses than the other types of transport so I think it's actually better." 20. Close taxi passing in front of a new BRT station, with a Rea Vaya sign STORYLINE: Johannesburg's public transport system has long depended solely on a private taxi system. Black entrepreneurs stepped in during apartheid, running taxi vans for blacks when the white government did little. But the unregulated business is dangerous, with poorly maintained vans and drivers resorting to violence to keep their routes. Now, as city authorities plan to improve transport ahead of next year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa, tensions are beginning to rise, as the taxi drivers cry foul and protest that their livelihood is being threatened. In Johannesburg's Central Business District, final touches are being put on stations of the new Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system, a network of official bus routes, aimed to provide safe and efficient transport for commuters and tourists alike. However, taxi drivers are claiming that they were not consulted over the BRT and that they are set to loose out financially when the BRT officially comes into operation this Sunday. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/9a9b145584f0eb47c7c1134be2ca3302 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork