two of the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP)
4 July 2007
On the 31 March 2007, the Gauteng Department of Public Transport, Roads and
Works, thousands of taxi operators, commuters and members of various Gauteng
communities launched the Gauteng leg of the second phase of the Taxi
Recapitalisation Program (TRP), at the Wesbank Raceway in Ekurhuleni Metro. The
TRP is taking place under the stewardship of the national Minister of
Transport, Jeff Radebe and is also in line with the strategic objective of
Gauteng provincial government, of building safe and sustainable communities and
accelerating job creation through faster economic growth. The launch also
represents another step forward in creating a better life for all by fulfilling
the strategic objective of "Provision of accessible, affordable, reliable,
integrated and environmentally sustainable public transport system".
The TRP and the department's objective is a direct response to the expressed
needs of public transport commuters, and those who use taxis in particular. The
commuters have been consistently working with government in addressing
attendant challenges, in the current system, that directly impact on the
quality of their lives as members of society and as workers. The weaknesses
they have highlighted can be summed up as the need for a public transport
system that would address important matters of safety, accessibility,
affordability, reliability, modal integration and environmental
sustainability.
The second phase of the TRP involves the scrapping of the old taxi vehicles
(OTVs) that are older than 10 years. The operators of these "scrapped" OTVs
will receive a once-off compensation payment of R50 000. Operators can also
volunteer to have their OTVs scrapped, and to this extent, more than 1 600
applications, for scrapping, have already been received, in Gauteng province,
since the launch of the programme by Minister Radebe, late last year. In
addition to this, the province has scrapped more than 75 old taxi vehicles
since 31 March 2007, and a further 122 have already been prepared for
scrapping.
This is an indication of the tremendous progress that government and the
taxi industry are making in improving the quality of public transport. At the
same time, government will ensure through law enforcement processes, that all
OTVs not fit or safe for use, are impounded and scrapped. In other words,
through volunteering or forced scrapping, Gauteng's roads will be cleared of
unsafe OTVs and all Gauteng's citizens, be they taxi commuters, other drivers
or pedestrians will be accorded their constitutional right to safety.
The scrapping of OTVs will be followed by the introduction of new taxi
vehicles (NTVs) and operating subsidies to the taxi industry. Government has
regulated the specifications for the NTVs, with the aim of ensuring uniform
standards in respect of safety, the number of passengers that the NTV can
accommodate, and other related matters.
Manufacturers of NTVs have to conform to the specifications that have been
gazetted.
Historically, and despite its large passenger base, and being the most
popular and currently accessible mode of transport for the majority of
Gauteng's public transport users, the taxi industry have been non beneficiaries
of government's operating subsidy schemes in respect of public transport.
Government, therefore, seeks to address this anomaly head on, so as to ensure
the delivery of a socially equitable public transport service to the majority
of commuters in the province. Therefore, the Gauteng Department of Public
Transport, Roads and Works is currently working on the implementation of a
pilot subsidy scheme for the taxi industry, in line with government's belief
that the subsidy needs to follow the majority of public transport users, and
also informed by demonstrable evidence of meaningful change in the relevant
public transport modes. Stakeholder consultations, in respect of the subsidy
scheme for the taxi industry, are underway and details of the scheme will be
announced in due course.
The NTVs and the subsidy scheme are important initiatives in the context of
Gauteng, where one third of the province's population are public transport
users, and more than 70% of this one third use taxis as their mode of
transport. It is also assumed that the section of the population that has no
access at all to mobility, are most likely to walk, cycle or use a taxi.
The long drive to the second phase of the TRP confirms the tenacity and
commitment of the Gauteng Department of Public Transport, Roads and Works, the
commuters and other key role players in the taxi industry to provide a better
taxi/transport service for all. In addition, more than 50 000 have applied to
have their radius based permits converted to route based operating licences
(OLs) this figure representing 99,99% of Gauteng based operators and 40% of the
total national picture. Fifty percent of these applications, i.e. 25 000 are
valid and active permits. Of these 25 000 permits, more than 20 000 have
already been verified, considered and approved by the Gauteng Operating Licence
Board (GOLB) and captured into the Operating Licence Administration System
(OLAS). We are currently processing 2 800 applications a week.
The road to phase two of the TRP has been laborious but necessary, designed
to guarantee a long-term and sustainable solution to the provision of excellent
taxi services, as part of an integrated public transport system. In this
regard, a few significant facts need mentioning, and these are the
following:
* The TRP was started about seven years ago with a broad based Be Legal
Campaign which was aimed at establishing an accurate database of taxi vehicles,
taxi operators and taxi permits that were in the system, and at encouraging the
taxi industry to migrate from the informal sector to mainstream economics. The
Be Legal campaign was followed by a massive democratisation phase, starting
with the formalisation of the taxi associations and the holding of democratic
elections for Executive Committee Members for each of the recognised Taxi
associations.
Regional Taxi councils were then established as broadly representative of
taxi associations within the areas of their jurisdiction. In Gauteng, six
regional councils were established aligned to the provinces six municipal areas
namely: Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, West Rand, Sedibeng and Metsweding.
The six regional councils in Gauteng then established the democratically
elected provincial taxi council, the Gauteng Taxi Council (Gataco).
Each provincial council then met to establish the South African National
Taxi Council (Santaco). In Gauteng, in addition to Gataco, the department also
consults and engages with the broadest span of stakeholders in the taxi
industry with the view to deepening public participation and democratic
practice on matters of public transport.
Reaching this second phase of the TRP has only been made possible through
the dedication, commitment, the support and co-operation between the government
and all taxi industry role-players. Gauteng Department of Public Transport,
Roads and Works take this opportunity to thank all that have participated in
the drive thus far. And, we are confident that the partnership between
government, the commuters, public transport operators and the community at
large will further enable all of us to break new ground in the development of
an effective, efficient and integrated public transport system for our province
and our country.
Public transport has major role to play in the growth and development of our
country's economy. As government, we believe that transport is indeed the
heartbeat of economic activity, and social development. We also believe that
transport has a critical role to play in the creation of more job
opportunities, as well as ensuring increased and easier access thereto.
The important role of public transport must also be viewed within the
context of our country playing host to the 2010 Federation International
Football Association (Fifa) World Cup, an event that will, in three years time,
see to hundreds of thousands of soccer lovers, and tourists, converging on the
African soil to witness not just a soccer tournament of the world's best
talents, but the experience of the culture, character, and identity of our
country and the continent's diverse peoples.
Forward to a better public transport system for all!
Contact:
Alfred Nhlapo
Media Liaison Officer
Tel: 011 355 7532
Cell: 083 376 8496
Issued by: Department Public Transport, Roads and Works, Gauteng Provincial
Government
4 July 2007
Source: SAPA
