J Radebe: Meeting with Western Cape Taxi Industry

28 March 2006

I first wish to thank the Chairperson and the entire Executive Committee of
the Western Cape Taxi Council for creating the platform for us to interact with
the taxi industry in the Province. This is a direct follow-up to a meeting
requested by some members of the taxi industry in the Western Cape, who
approached the Office of the Chief Whip in Parliament to facilitate
interactions with us. We did not have the time to go into details in our first
meeting, but we made a promise to come back within reasonable time and discuss
with you the many challenges facing taxi operators in the Western Cape. The MEC
for Public Works and Transport in the Western Cape, Comrade Marius Fransman, as
well as officials from the national and provincial departments, are
accompanying me today. Indeed, we are here to fulfil the promise we made to
come and listen to your concerns, issues and suggestions as well as share with
the taxi industry current plans by Government aimed at improving and empowering
the taxi industry for the better.

I do not intend at this stage to go into detail on any of our key
programmes. The main purpose today is to allow taxi operators to raise their
own ideas, concerns and questions, and then we will, as Government, attempt,
where possible, to discuss and clarify these issues and concerns. However,
allow me to say a few words before we allow members of the Western Cape taxi
industry to raise their issues.

Firstly, I am aware that the first part of this meeting started at 10h00
this morning and served as a report back session by delegates of the Western
Cape Taxi Council to the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) National
Conference held last week at Sun City in the North West Province. I must
commend your leadership in the Province and say that I am encouraged by SANTACO
initiatives to report back on developments taking within the taxi industry.
This is something that we have raised as Government over the past two years
that SANTACO needed to improve on its capacity to report back to provinces and
taxi operators on the ground. I believe that this is one thing that all taxi
structures need to keep on improving, especially in the context of the
implementation of the taxi recapitalisation programme.

In this context, I also wish to take this opportunity to congratulate, on
behalf of the Government, the President and the new team that was elected at
Sun City last week. I am aware that the Western Cape is proud to have one of
its prominent members, Junaid Peters, elected to the executive as National
Chairperson of SANTACO.

I am focusing on this issue because last year when the taxi industry in the
Western Cape went for elections, many of the key taxi bodies were outside the
fold of SANTACO. We must acknowledge that the national Department, the Province
and the then national leadership of SANTACO, in consultation with the taxi
bodies here, made a commitment to ensuring that a more inclusive leadership
emerges that will unite the entire industry in the Province. I am satisfied
that the last elections in the Province have created a firm foundation for
taking forward this industry in the Western Cape. Today, all key taxi bodies
remarkable achievement that together, the taxi industry and Government, should
protect and further enhance.

There is one important point that I always make and wish to reiterate today
and that is the fact that Government remains committed to working with you so
that we build on the strengths of the taxi industry and empower taxi operators.
The taxi industry has over many years been very robust and competitive. Taxis
have shown that they are enormously flexible, operate more efficiently within
short distances and where passenger volumes are low and response effectively
and in flexible way to user demands and provides convenience by picking and
dropping passengers closer to their homes and/or places of work. The taxi
industry has over the years contributed to reducing travel times for poor
communities, and has been a source of income and employment for many within the
black community.

In the spirit of true entrepreneurship, taxi operators also took advantage
of gaps within the formal public transport environment to become the leading
transporter of commuters in our country. Indeed, the strengths of the taxi
industry have enabled this industry to occupy a central role in the
transportation of our people.

So, Government is building on the strengths of the taxi whilst working with
taxi people to remove some of the negative features that have become the
hallmark of the taxi industry. We need to take note of the fact that without
Government assistance and support, the taxi industry will not be able to make
significant headway. Due to history and the environment within which taxis
operate, the taxi industry on its own is in no position to recapitalise its
taxi fleet, and therefore, unable to take further advantage of its
strengths.

Government intervention in the taxi industry and in the public transport
arena as a whole presents new opportunities. The taxi industry has always been
the pioneers of change, and should not fear the latest changes being brought by
the taxi recapitalisation programme. We are aware of the many risks and
challenges, and we should work together to overcome these. However, we should
not follow those who were opposed to the taxi industry in the past to position
themselves as the new champions of the taxi industry.

The taxi industry in this country is highly organised and able to speak on
its own behalf. We are here today because we sincerely believe that taxi people
could speak for themselves and do not need some “special messiahs” to represent
their industry. We need to ask these people where were they when the apartheid
government treated the taxi industry with such suspicion and venom that they
were not able to conduct their businesses in a free manner. Let us not allow
people who tell lies and claim that Government interventions in the taxi
industry are about destroying the taxi man.

As you know, Government decided that the taxi recapitalisation programme is
not only about the scrapping of old taxis. But, as the Cabinet noted then, that
the taxi recapitalisation project provides us with the opportunity to regulate
effectively and empower taxi operators. We are beginning to do that by opening
subsidised bus contracts for the participation of taxis, we are equalising the
conditions in the licenses being issued for public transport, exploring
possibilities for an operational subsidy, creating dedicated bus- and taxiways,
etc. These are some of the key interventions and comprehensive solutions we are
working on to improve the safety and reliability of public transport as a
whole, and locating the role of viable and sustainable taxi businesses within
this framework. We have put in place a comprehensive strategy that puts at its
centre the interests of taxi operators, drivers, queue marshals, cleaners,
etc.

In this way, we will be able to mitigate the various risks that we have
identified with the industry such as lack of affordability of new taxi
vehicles, disruptions of public transport provision in some instances, etc. We
will have a partnership that seeks to ensure that as many of our operators who
intend to remain in this industry are supported and assisted by Government at
all three levels.

The Western Cape is a special case that provides some very exciting
possibilities for us. The size of the industry in this Province (approximately
29 % of public transport) unlike in other parts where taxis are simply dominant
means that we could explore real possibilities for both the taxi industry and
small bus operators to be brought on board through the restructuring and
transformation of the current subsidised bus services. We need to use this
possibility more effectively and share the key lessons with the rest of the
country.

A key condition for success of public transport improvement initiatives in
this part of our land is co-operation between the Province and City of Cape
Town. We will need to overcome the fragmentation that characterises our public
transport system, and work together through effective planning at city level in
order that the taxi recapitalisation process and the transformation of the bus
industry do not reproduce the very distortions that continue to hamper an
effective public transport system. The only indicator of real movement for us
should be improved mobility, reduced travel times, reduced costs and greater
access for all the people in this city.

The licensing of public transport operations must support our overall vision
and must be informed by routes determined by our planning authorities. I expect
therefore the City of Cape Town to play its role in determining routes and
ensuring that these supports the City’s own development strategy.

We will not consider the taxi recapitalisation programme a success if we as
Government fail to ensure that parallel to the introduction of new and safe
vehicles, there is a restructuring in the way public transport works and
allocate role and responsibilities more appropriately. I am confident that the
key projects such as the Klipfontein Corridor Development and dedicated public
transport lanes that have already been identified by both the Province and City
of Cape Town, as part of the integration of the City, will begin to see the
light of day in this period. We need a partnership for change and begin to
reverse some of the negative trends that are holding back the delivery of a
good and sustainable public transport system.

Further details and information will be made available in the context of our
discussions today. Both MEC Fransman and I will spend a good amount of time
listening to you and will contribute to the further understanding of the
strategic direction that we have chosen and are implementing as the
Government.

I thank you!

Issued by: Department of Transport
28 March 2006