BLOEMFONTEIN – Bloemfontein township taxis returned to business as normal from early morning today – Wednesday, after drivers and owners staged a violent protest that paralysed traffic in the city’s central business district yesterday, Tuesday.
Angry protesters blockaded two key arterial routes — Fort Road and Harvey Road — setting tyres and debris alight at the intersection of the two roads. The action triggered severe traffic congestion, bringing commuter movement and business operations across the area to a standstill. The protest started around 10:00 and continued beyond 16:00.
Scores of drivers were spotted monitoring traffic along both roads, ensuring no passengers were picked up, stranding large numbers of commuters trying to return to their home townships. As tensions reached boiling point, protesters moved to blockade the Interstate Bus Lines terminal at the Central Park Shopping Complex.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, protesters said the action was a last resort, taken in direct response to the impounding of their vehicles by officials from the Mangaung Metro Municipality Traffic Department. They alleged that traffic officers were deliberately targeting CBD hotspots — areas where taxi drivers drop off passengers heading to work — despite ongoing calls by the Greater Bloemfontein Taxi Association to end the impoundments.
“For every vehicle impounded, we pay a fine of R1,900 plus an additional R750, applied alongside an initial moving or obstruction traffic fine and daily storage fees,” said one driver.
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One taxi owner expressed deep frustration at the impoundments, saying, “This is clearly hindering our taxi business as the main mode of transport in greater Bloemfontein. Traffic officers are forcing us to drop off and pick up passengers at the main taxi rank. It does not make sense to drive past a point with passengers, drop them off far away, and then have them walk back to the same point we passed. This is time-consuming.”
The Mangaung Traffic Department identified the following areas as drop-off and pick-up points: Douglas, Harvey and Hanger. According to the city traffic department, officials enforce bylaws against operators breaking the law – stopping in the middle of the road to drop off passengers – putting lives at risk.
