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document.write("<div class=\"article_Comments\">USER COMMENTS >");
document.write("<h5>Driver Education Required</h5>");
document.write("I think that the taxi industry should be partnered with BRT however the taxi industry has to be trained fully and those drivers attitude and mentality needs to be changed and this is where the challenge is as you know currently the taxi drivers are are a law unto themselves and that is no perception but fact.. Tharman");
document.write("<h5>Hadlee Simons makes a bad argument</h5>");
document.write("Look, I'm all for the new system, but there are much better reasons than Simons gives. And Moolla is not against the system, he just raises some very important points to remember.<br /><br />The BRT will be a major benefit for most people involved in the taxi industry. They're going to get state subsidies, a vastly increased  market, and stability. Simons makes it sound like replacing the taxis is an unfortunate side-effect, but one which they actually deserve and they should take it on the cheek for the good of the country. This is not the case.<br /><br />And this is not about having the world take us more seriously. Its about dealing with unsustainable increases in the number of cars on the road, and providing a platform for massive economic growth.<br /><br />But as Moolla writes, the taxi industry needs to be treated in a respectful way. Yes, the new system is going to be good for everyone, but that doesn't mean the state can treat the industry in a patronising way.. Reid");
document.write("<h5>Ebrahim is making sense!</h5>");
document.write("I'm pleasantly surprised by the coherence of EM's argument - it's not the ANCYL-like verbose nonsense that he has been guilty of in the past.. Jacques");
document.write("<h5>@ Mr. Moolla</h5>");
document.write("Almost ANYTHING will be better than the current situation with taxis and their drivers.<br /><br />I can only imagine that you probably have friends and family working in the industry and would therefore like to help and protect them, but I need you to understand what is actually happening on a daily basis.<br /><br />Firstly, getting a taxi almost right in front of your house and being the fastest means of transport to nearly anywhere is definitely a bonus, but most people will sacrifice this for a system such as BRT.<br /><br />The fact of the matter is that you are NOT gaurenteed to even get a taxi if you step out of your house.  You could wait anything from 1 to 45 minutes in peak hour before a taxi arrives, so you have no way of actually planning your time.  You'll either be late or early.<br /><br />Once you are inside a taxi, he will decide whether you are actually on your way to your destination of not.  He could drive around your area or even go to another area trying to fill that taxi to enough passengers for him to run a profit for the decided destination.  So here you could easily loose another 1/2 hour.<br /><br />If you do get a taxi, you are not gaurenteed of an actual seat to sit on. Maybe you had a seat to sit on when the taxi was empty, but by the time its on its way, most 16-seaters have 20 passengers, excluding the driver.<br /><br />While in this taxi, you will be confronted with the driver and or the \"gaatjie\" (sometimes even the other passengers) massive foul language, super loud music, with base booming in your head until the next day (ready for the next dose), smoking, drinking, odours, reckless and dangerous driving over red robots, in the yellow lane, over white lines, over centre islands, short cuts, to name but a few.<br /><br />So you think you are on your way, NOOOO.  Next they stop next to the road, changed their mind about going to your destination, put some bucks in your hand, please find yourself another taxi to go where you want to.  DAMN!  There goes another 30 minutes.<br /><br />Ever heard of taxi wars?  Ever been in a taxi that was being pulled over by its opposition.  I would love to see you #### yourself.<br /><br />How about the taxi falling apart along the route??  Driver gives a rats ass, continues speeding at 140km/h.<br /><br />So close to your destination you need to hand over you cash, today Mr. Driver decided that the fees has been increased because its bonus month.  You only have 5 bucks, because you have been paying 5 bucks for 6 weeks.  Today its R6.50.<br /><br />Please don't give me this BS Mr. Moolla!<br /><br />I am glad to say that I worked my#####off for many years and don't need to use a taxi, but there are still 100's of thousands of people who still have to deal with this every single day.. MTBer");
document.write("<h5>Tax industry? Organized?</h5>");
document.write("If the Taxi industry started behaving in a civil fashiona nd allowed themselves to be structured and organized, then perhaps they'd be included in plans for an efficient public transport system. The ball really is in their court!. freddie");
document.write("<h5>The key is the SA public</h5>");
document.write("I understand that the taxi industry provides a vital service. But ours is supposedly a free economy, not one controlled by the State as in Communist countries. So the general public is absolutely entitled to freedom of choice as to their mode of transport. If a better, more economical way comes along, it is their right to make use of it. The taxi industry hasn't exactly covered itself with glory with its gangster-style operation and shootings, and as they pay little or no tax anyway, they should be prosecuted if they try in any way to obstruct the BRT system. And. Moolla, can we please forget about the 'struggle' - it is now history.. alan");
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