SANTACO Celebrates the Digitisation of Taxi Payments, SA Not Convinced

• The South African National Taxi Council has hailed the government's plans to transition into a cashless taxi fare system
• The Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, announced recently that Gauteng taxis will be transitioning to a digital system of payment
• SANTACO spokesperson praises the government's initiative, and this caused debate on social media

For seven years, Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of Current Affairs, South Africa, covered a range of topics, including accidents, fires, outbreaks, nature, weather, and natural disaster-related incidents, at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

JOHANNESBURG, GQUTENG — The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) reacted to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi's announcement that the taxi industry in Gauteng will be adopting a cashless fare payment system.

Lesufi took to X on 7 October 2025 to announce that the province is migrating the industry to a cashless environment. He said that this will be done to eliminate cash that leads to ATM bombings, cash-in-transit heists, and business robberies. Lesufi said that passengers will be able to pay with their phones, credit cards, a prepaid temporary card, or their South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) cards. Lesufi did not indicate when the rollout would begin.

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What did SANTACO say?

SANTACO spokesperson Rebecca Phala hailed the initiative and said that the organisation is working with service providers to introduce other forms of payment. She said that it will not be possible to be completely cashless for now. She told SABC News that in Cape Town, there is a service provider that uses WhatsApp to facilitate automated payment solutions.

Stories about SANTACO

Ekurhuleni commuters were stranded when SANTACO-affiliated members embarked on a strike in Ekurhuleni on 28 August. This left thousands stranded after the City of Ekurhuleni impounded its members' taxis. The Municipality's Transport Department impounded 17 taxis for various offences, including unroadworthy vehicles operating on the road.

SANTACO in KwaZulu-Natal pledged to rebuild the creche in Imbali, Pietermaritzburg, after a taxi crashed into the creche, killing five. The incident happened on 11 September 2025 when a taxi lost control and crashed into the Senzokuhle Creche.

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South Africans weigh in

Netizens sharing their opinions joked about the digitisation of taxi fare payments.

Van Der Gert Dzumba said:

"Bank owners will be smiling now. Just imagine the charges."

Duruwe Mizo said:

"All the taxi drivers will be gone after introducing that system. Owners will have to drive their own taxis."

Thelma Shonisani Stones said:

"Seems like we'll have four taxis on the road."

Mduduzi Lukhele said:

"SARS is popping champagne on this."

Lebogang Phologane said:

"Drivers will always have a plan to bypass that system. Either they will tell passengers that the machine has no network or is just broken, just to make sure passengers pay cash for them to take it."

SANTACO Gauteng slams patrollers intimidating motorists

In a related article, Briefly News reported that SANTACO in Gauteng condemned incidents of patrollers intimidating motorists.

SANTACO's national chairperson, Midday Mali, said that patrollers are not allowed to prevent others from transporting people in private vehicles.

Source: Briefly News