irreversible
26 October 2006
Bloemfontein - More than 10 000 taxi operators will join the Minister of
Transport, Jeff Radebe, and Transport MECs in the first scrapping exercise of
the old taxi vehicles and the introduction of new taxi vehicles in Bloemfontein
on Saturday, 28 October.
This is a ground-breaking initiative in the taxi industry which is aimed at
removing the ageing taxi fleet.
Currently more than 7 000 registered operators have registered to scrap
their old taxi vehicles countrywide. At Saturday's event, more than ten
certified models of new taxi vehicles will be launched.
Now that scrapping facilities have been identified in all provinces the
scrapping of old taxi vehicles will kick-start.
The conception and now implementation of the TRP is the outcome of an
intense and robust engagement between government and various stakeholders
including the taxi industry, commuters, banks and vehicle manufacturers. The
TRP has its roots in the National Taxi Task Team (NTTT) that was initiated by
government and the taxi industry in 1994.
Government's intervention through the TRP seeks to address amongst other
things, the following:
* introduction of compulsory safety standards and requirements for our
passengers
* once off scrapping allowance to qualifying operators
* promotion of accessibility to public transport vehicles for the disabled
people
* newer fleet of taxi vehicles that would resolve the problem of down time lost
through vehicle repairs.
* public transport modal integration.
The revised approach for the implementation of the TRP required government
to embark on a process of having a mechanism to scrap the old taxi vehicles and
facilitate the payment of the approved R50 000 scrapping allowance to the
qualifying operators. The implementation of the TRP follows the outcome of
government's wide consultation with institutions like the National Association
of Automobile Manufactures of South Africa, the South African Bureau of
Standards (SABS) and various taxi organisations.
Saturday's event will see the launch of available vehicles in the market,
which are compliant with the compulsory safety specifications as published.
These vehicles have been certified by the SABS, which is the appropriate
authority in the country to confirm the existence and compliance of the
necessary standards in these vehicles.
Enquiries:
Collen Msibi
Cell: 082 414 5279
Sam Monareng
Cell: 083 326 1521
Issued by: Ministry of Transport
26 October 2006
