Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the Council -
1) notes that 12 passengers suffered serious injuries when their taxi was involved in an accident on the N2 and Baden Powell Drive in the direction of Somerset West in Cape Town;
2) also notes that the driver was carrying 27 passengers instead of the 16 designated for his taxi and provincial traffic authorities have confirmed that eNaTis records show that the driver had no licence and that his learner's licence expired on 25 February 2010;
3) further notes that 26 people were seriously injured when two speeding minibus taxis collided on the M4 Southern Freeway in the vicinity of the Durban International Airport late last night and that since the Metrorail strike began on Monday, some taxi drivers are reportedly holding communities at ransom and taking advantage of stranded commuters by overloading and overcharging them;
4) calls on all taxi operators to ensure that their drivers obey the traffic laws and that they refrain from all sorts of selfish and illegal means of extorting desperate and helpless commuters; and 5) further calls on the MEC for transport and all relevant authorities to intervene and make themselves visible in the taxi ranks.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.