Down with high taxi fares and bad service

ROOI OLIFANT WRITES:The public transportation sector has become financially and safety-wise burdensome and worrisome to members of the public.Taxi operators increasingly employ tactics of self-entitlement to unethically manipulate and exploit the system and Covid-19 situation in order to benefit unfairly from it. Cab drivers exploit passengers and tourists by charging unreasonable and at times, exorbitant taxi fares. They have the Namibian public in their manipulative hands, so much so that we must dance to their tune.They forget that we pay them for their unreasonable, substandard and unsafe services.In the end, even the Namibian government, the Namibia Bus and Taxi Association (NABTA) and unions, side ignorantly with these exploiters of an already dire and crippling Namibian economic situation, such that taxi fares do not reflect the increment and decrement of fuel prices, current currency value and inflation rates, when studied closer.Cab drivers also charge double for very short distances from taxi ranks to schools, hospitals, churches, clinics, and old-age homes, which is unfair. And to make it worse, they redouble that amount from 12 pm to 6 am. Why must we pay an extra N$12.00 during the day and N$24.00 at night for a mere 50 to 200m from the taxi rank? And with Corona around, the situation is even worse because we must pay N$2.00 extra during the day and N$4.00 extra after 24:00!Taxi fares in Namibian rural and coastal towns are the same as that of Windhoek, which is unfair considering the much smaller physical sizes of these towns and shorter distances.And for these unfair prices, Namibians also pay with their lives as Namibian cabs, in general, have increasingly become unsafe, unreliable and disgraceful. A huge number of taxis operate without taxi licenses and public driver's permits.In the meantime, they demand traffic penalty fees to be reduced. What for? To keep on gambling with our lives? We say NO MORE!Long distance taxi drivers refuse to drop their passengers off at home, even at night, and charge them an extra fee in municipal areas as if they have the license to do so.As cash-paying taxi customers we demand that:1. All public schools, hospitals, clinics, registered religious institutions and old-age homes be declared as taxi ranks up to which the normal cab fare is charged, that is N$12.00 during daytime currently. After 12pm to 6 am cab fees must be decreased to N$15.00. Senior citizens and children under the age of six must pay N$10.00 during the day and N$12.00 from 12pm to 6am.2. Taxi fees in Namibian rural and coastal towns must be reduced in relation to physical size and distances. These should be N$10.00 during the day and N$12.00 from 12pm to 6am.3. Increments and decrements in taxi fares must coincide with and reflect fluctuations in fuel prices.4. Taxi drivers must treat passengers with dignity and respect and keep their safety and health in high esteem.5. Long-distance taxi drivers must drop their passengers off at the taxi rank closest to their respective homes at night without an extra charge. They must charge an extra N$5.00 only when dropping off clients near their homes during the day.As concerned cab users we must stand up to this tyrany and exploitation and make a difference by visiting the link below to sign and share the online petition.Thank you for your support.http://chng.it/XCCrLxgJQM

Down with high taxi fares and bad service

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Republikein 2026-02-03

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Down with high taxi fares and bad service

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Republikein 2026-02-03

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