National Land Transport Transition Amendment Bill Debate at the National
Council of Provinces (NCOP), Cape Town
14 June 2006
The National Land Transport Transition Act (NLTTA) came into effect in 2000
and all spheres of government began to implement it, with Part 7 of the Act
only coming into effect on 1 June 2002 after the transport planning minimum
requirements and guidelines had been developed by the Department to guide
provinces and local sphere on transport planning.
The NLTTA was a major step in the transformation of public transport in the
history of South Africa and was enacted as a response to the challenges,
weaknesses, inefficiencies and problems confronting public transport in the
country. It sought to establish a coherent, development orientated approach to
public transport, drawing from all spheres of government.
The main feature of the NLTTA is its requirement for municipal, provincial
and national level of transport planning to be the basis on which all future
public transport operating licences are awarded to operators, thus making
public transport demand responsive, rather that supply driven.
Some of the issues raised in these amendments are urgent to enable us to
implement the Taxi Recapitalisation Program. In this regard, may I express my
appreciation to the NCOP for the way in which the Bill's passage has been
expedited during the current parliamentary cycle.
The Bill seeks to give national, provincial and local spheres of government
effective regulatory and practical mechanisms to fast-track the transformation
and improvements while also putting safety measures in place for the benefit of
the users. Amongst other things, the following are key issues that the
Amendment Bill seeks to address:
* to simplify transport planning framework
* to make provision for the new taxi vehicle sizes in line with the Taxi
Recapitalisation Process to improve safety in the taxi industry
* to rationalise functions of the Minister, MECs, registrars and the Operating
Licence Boards
* to regulate the conveyance of people on adapted/ modified light delivery
vehicles (LDVs), meter taxis and Tourist service vehicles. [On this point,
experiences on the ground in certain areas have dictated a need to regulate
conveyance of people on LDVs to ensure passenger safety. The proposed Amendment
Bill proposes interventions to ensure that passengers in remote and resource
poor areas have access to mobility and are transported in a safe and human
manner while in the short to medium term infrastructure is being improved to
cater for mainstream public transport]
* to extend subsidised contract period from five to seven years to support
small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) and Black Economic Empowerment
(BEE) operators.
The proposed NLTTA amendments represent a very significant intervention
towards fast-tracking the effective planning, delivery and safety regulation of
our public transport transformation in the country. Once promulgated into law,
the amendments will give relevant authorities enabling frameworks and necessary
environment to fast-track implementation of key projects such as the Taxi
Re-capitalisation Project and to effectively regulate the public transport
system in order ensure that it is sustainable, user-friendly and playing its
desired role as the heartbeat of our economy.
Honourable Members I have in a nutshell outlined some of the critical
challenges that we must urgently address with the proposed Amendment Bill to
the NLTTA. I look forward to the debate and will respond accordingly to other
issues emanating from the debate in my closing remarks.
I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Transport
14 June 2006
Source: Department of Transport (http://www.transport.gov.za)
