WEDNESDAY, 4.30PM
NINETY percent of SA minibus taxi associations have applied for registration, a sign that attempts to regulate the chaotic industry are on track, Transport Minister Mac Maharaj said on Wednesday.
Illegal taxi operators, estimated to comprise half the industry, have until October 31 to register. Maharaj said the registration process has already placed authorities in a better law enforcement position, with some provinces already cracking down on offenders. Although there will be a grace period for contravention, law enforcement will be intensified once the registration process is complete, Maharaj warned.
The October 31 deadline will see the majority of taxi operators in one regulatory fold for the first time, National Taxi Task Team (NTTT) chairman Dipak Patel said. The Land Passenger Transport Bill will probably be enacted by then and the entire process of reregulating the industry in terms of this new legislation could begin.