National taxi association wants to reduce road accidents
"My message to you, the drivers, is that you must respect yourself so that commuters can also respect you."
“We are launching Operation Hlokomela (safety awareness programme) in Ivory Park to show we value our drivers.”
This was said by the South African National Taxi Council‘s president, Mr Phillip Taaibosch, following the recent Easter weekend.
In attendance were representatives from the greater Johannesburg region, which is made up of five regions, the leadership of Santaco in Gauteng and local councillors of the City of Joburg.
Mr Taaibosch also praised Mr Johannes Mkhonza, the chairman of Santaco in Gauteng, and the chairman of the Ivory Park Taxi Association, for being brave to call him to the launch of Hlokomela in Ivory Park. The launch was held at the Ivory Park, Extension 2 Taxi Rank on Tuesday last week.
“We are saying to the Minister of Transport and the MEC of Transport in Gauteng, in their absentia, that we want to take responsibility in halving the road crashes beyond 2020.
“Our taxi transport contributes 78 percent to the country’s economy. We want to be responsible citizens,” said Mr Taaibosch.
“My message to you, the drivers, is that you must respect yourself so that commuters can also respect you. Please introduce yourself to the commuters before you drive them to their place of work. This helps in creating a good relationship between the driver and the commuters,” said Mr Taaibosch.
“We are not going to be law enforcers, but rather we want disciplinary enforcement in the industry. We want to invest in the industry to make changes in the industry,” he said.
He also advised that all vehicles must be properly checked before they leave the taxi rank.
“Let’s share the responsibility of driving on our road. Driver, don’t be fooled by your commuters to rush you when they are late for work – speed kills. As a taxi council, we are committed to having a crash free day in South Africa,” he said.
