SA National Taxi Council’s (Santaco) has launched a disinfection programme to help curb the spread of Covid-19 in taxies and taxi ranks. Buti Mkhonza, Chairperson of Santaco said: “We are excited about the donations from private companies and the help from the provincial government. There is a lot of movement at taxi ranks… these will help.”
The disinfection programme will make sure that taxis and the rank were being disinfected before commuters enter the Taxi. Randburg was the first rank to have a sanitising booth at its entrances. The programme will also be providing sanitising machines for passengers to use.
Taxi Driver Musa Mkhize, drives between Bree rank in the Johannesburg city centre and Randburg, said their safety was not guaranteed as they transported anyone who needed the service. “I am very happy about the disinfection of taxis especially the machines at the entrance to sanitize passengers,” said Mkhize.
Another taxi driver, Sizwe Mchunu, said they always see in the news the number of people who are killed by the Coronavirus. “I was always concerned about my safety because I have a family to take care of. I am happy to see that something is being done to protect us from the virus,” said Mchunu.
Introducing the sanitizing booths was also a relief for passengers as well. Duduzile Shabalala said the sanitising booth and machines were a good idea as there was a lot of movement at the taxi rank.”No one knows who has the virus or not. I think such measures will put many people at ease,” said Shabalala.
Sizwe Skosana from Sigma Medical Group also vouched for the effectiveness of the walk-in disinfecting unit. “This machine is 100% water-based, and it kills [virus] on contact. We are in partnership with Santaco and these machines will be seen at all the taxi ranks across the province,” he said. Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure, Jacob Mamabolo also attended the launch. He said the government wanted to make sure passengers wore masks inside taxis.
“In this province, we will be very strict when it comes to the wearing of masks. If people don’t have masks they should not be allowed to commute. As the department in the province, we are going to go to taxi ranks to make sure these sanitizing innovations are introduced. Taxi ranks should also be kept clean. No taxi should be a carrier of coronavirus, every taxi must be cleaned before and after every trip,” said Mamabolo.
