Santaco: Taxi protests not industry-led

Johannesburg - The Johannesburg taxi operators' protest is not led by the taxi industry, the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) said on Monday.

Spokesman Thabisho Molelekwa said they were aware of the protest, although it was not a taxi industry strike.

"It is believed the involved taxi drivers were frustrated because of the rising petrol price and law enforcement removing disks from taxis, thus disabling them from operation and causing commuters to seek alternative transport to work."

He said this resulted in them being habitually late.

"There are also unconfirmed reports that e-tolling is one of the issues," Molelekwa said.

The protest left thousands of commuters stranded on Monday morning, the SABC reported. Affected areas included many Soweto suburbs, Vosloorus on the East Rand, and the Vaal Triangle. Many commuters were unaware the protest was taking place, the broadcaster reported.