Taxi bosses, Oceans Mall meet amid rank protest

Operators say their request for a rank in the area has fallen on deaf ears.

They arrived on Tuesday morning to find the spot outside the mall where they normally park barricaded.

Taxi operators say commuters will have to find other modes of transport because they will not move until this issue is resolved. 

READ: Taxi drivers block Umhlanga routes

The shutdown has brought many businesses to a standstill and many people stuck with no way out. 

One of the people who works at a nearby salon says they can't continue with business since they operate on appointments.

"It has blocked everything. It has blocked business. We lost customers because they can't get in and out of our business, so it needs to be sorted out.” 

Another taxi commuter told Newswatch she is in support of the issues raised by the taxi operators.

ALSO READ: Taxi operators protest over ranking issue in Umhlanga

Ward Councillor Nicole Bollman said she warned the city two years ago that this would happen.

"We are working in a very small environment, and especially that the hotel and the Oceans Mall have come up - it has made it that much smaller. So you still trying to fit people in this environment with very little at that stage, very little law enforcement. 

"So effectively, what was happening with businesses here were getting upset, and we brought the metro police in."