The Gauteng department of public transport, roads and works announced on Monday that it will be increasing the pace of conversion of minibus taxi permits to operating licences.
In the next few months, it plans to convert 40 000 permits to operating licences in the province. These licences will operate the same way as licenses for all other modes of public transport do.
The conversion is part of a broader process of public-transport transformation and will be necessary to build a sustainable and profitable public-transport industry, said the department in a statement.
Before the taxi industry can grow, it needs to become legal, conflict free and formalised, said the department. To make the taxi industry conflict free, the new or converted operating licences will detail the route each driver is expected to travel.
Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe indicated that he will shortly announce an extension of the conversion deadline.
Lebelo Maloka, spokesperson for the department of public transport, roads and works in Gauteng, told the M&G Online on Monday that there is a number of benefits for both the commuters and the drivers.
”First of all, there is the safety aspect. The driver now has to carry a licence with him, so you know [as a commuter] that his vehicle is safe to be on the road, and the driver himself is reliable. The driver has to take out public-liability insurance so injured passengers will be insured.
”It is going to cost them [the drivers] now [for insurance — there is no fee for convertion] but this is something we have to do. We have to modernise and they [the drivers] are going to benefit from the good working conditions in which the system will be running.”
The department has opened four bases in Gauteng where it has set up one-stop shops to help taxi operators convert their permits with little hassle.
”We agreed with the Gauteng Taxi Council and the Gauteng National Taxi Alliance to encourage them to go to one of the four bases. We now need to create consciousness,” said Maloka.
There are other steps to be taken to build a sustainable taxi industry, such as improving the process of registering new routes where there are new developments and housing settlements; training and capacity building of operators and drivers; and restructuring the subsidy system so that rail, bus and taxi operators can access the subsidy for fair competition between the modes.
A taxi driver with a criminal record won’t be penalised when he applies for an operating licence.
”However, the national minister [of transport] and my fellow MECs [provincial ministers] responsible for transport and community safety were unanimous: that after this extension, if operators have not got operating licences or proof that they have submitted an application for conversion, the law-enforcement officers will show no leniency in getting them off our roads,” said Maloka.