Taxi drivers share difficulties they faced during closure of Lilian Ngoyi Street

JOHANNESBURG - Some taxi drivers in Johannesburg CBD have shared the difficulties they faced during the two-year closure of Lilian Ngoyi Street.

The transport sector was severely affected when the road was closed to traffic in 2023 following an underground gas explosion.

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During the closure, taxis, buses, and private vehicles were forced onto alternative routes, causing heavy congestion throughout the CBD.

The City of Johannesburg finallyreopened the road to motorists on Friday morning.

It’s back to normal for both businesses on Lilian Ngoyi Street and the taxi drivers who have had to take alternative routes over the past two years.

Ndumiso Tshabela, among the first taxi drivers to use the newly rebuilt road on Friday morning, said the past two years have been tough.

"It’s better because the traffic will now flow instead of the congestion. At least now we’ll be able to drive without much hassle. The traffic was bad. We were making money but we were affected by the traffic."

Another taxi driver, Matome Mpekwane, is glad the road has finally reopened but said it was still not taxi-friendly.

"Before the street was destroyed, it had four lanes. Now it only has two. We’ll have to share this road with trucks and other motorists, which is going to make traffic congestion worse."

The City of Johannesburg said its engineers have taken measures to ensure that no similar underground gas explosion occurs in the future.