Residents of Grahamstown have been told that they are no longer allowed to hitchhike.
Residents of Grahamstown have been told that they are no longer allowed to hitchhike.
This is said to have taken effect as of this month as written on notices pasted in the windows of local taxis. The notice reads that hitchhikers travelling to King William’s Town, Peddie, Fort Beaufort and Port Elizabeth are urged to only take taxis as transportation as of Monday, 1 November.
Makana spokesperson Thandy Matebese said, "No one is allowed to hitchhike in any town at any given time. There are [no hitchhiking]road signs put in place for this." He said the resolution was reached at a meeting held by the Makana Transport Forum earlier this year as a joint effort between the municipality and taxi associations.
"Taking people off these areas they hitchhike from is supposed to be done by our municipality but we do not have enough personnel to man the hiking spots," he said. However, representatives from the two taxi local taxi associations, Uncedo and Border Alliance Taxi Association, declined to comment, citing that this was not solely their decision and that they will only communicate with the media when they have held a meeting among themselves.
Hitchhikers interviewed by Grocott’s Mail said that no one has attempted to prevent them from caching a lift and they are still using the spots they have been using all along. Nolusindiso Kiswa who is from Port Elizabeth but stays in Grahamstown said, "I hitchhike every time I need to go home because it is faster than a normal taxi. I also don’t like that they force us to go to the taxi rank, who has the time to wait all day in a taxi?"
She also says she is not planning to stop hitchhiking. Matebese said the transport forum’s decision means that residents will not be allowed to hitchhike in town. "They are supposed to hike at the entry or the exit of the town, not at the spots they are using at the moment," he said. However, when asked where exactly these ‘safe’ spots are he could not say for sure, referring Grocoot’s Mail to senior superintendent Pierre Kapp who could not be reached in time of going to print.
Thembisa Moyikwa, who was on her way to King William’s Town said, "I don’t hitchhike as often but the taxi drivers did the very same thing last year around this time chasing us from the spot to Port Elizabeth.
That did not stop us from hitchhiking though and it will not stop us even now."
