Mogale City taxi crackdown: Unsafe vehicles taken off the road
Four vehicles in Mogale City were impounded, while dozens of drivers and operators across Gauteng were found flouting basic road safety requirements.
Mogale City was among the areas targeted during a week-long road safety enforcement operation by the Gauteng Transport Inspectorate (GTI) and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), which resulted in hundreds of infringement notices and several unroadworthy vehicles being removed from the province’s roads.
The operations, conducted from August 10 to 16 under the #RemoveSkorokoro campaign, focused on high-risk public transport corridors across Gauteng’s major metropolitan municipalities.
According to Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport spokesperson Melitah Madiba, the enforcement operations targeted roadworthiness, valid documentation, driver compliance and adherence to traffic and public transport legislation.
“Across the province, 11 minibuses were discontinued after being found to be unroadworthy and posing a safety risk to passengers and other road users. A further 16 discontinuation notices were issued, including four in Mogale City. The notices comprised one in Tshwane, eight in Johannesburg, one in Ekurhuleni, two in Sebokeng and four in Mogale City,” she said.
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Madiba added that the operations also highlighted widespread non-compliance among minibus taxi operators.
She explained that 46 minibuses were found operating without valid licence discs, while 49 minibus taxi drivers were found operating without valid driving licences. One person was also arrested for bribery during the operations. GTI officers issued 544 handwritten Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) infringement notices during the reporting period.
These included 43 in Tshwane, 281 in Johannesburg, 27 in Ekurhuleni, 110 in Sebokeng and 83 in Mogale City. A further 716 electronic infringement notices were processed using the Inspectorate’s e-Force devices. These included 33 in Tshwane, 342 in Johannesburg, six in Ekurhuleni, 183 in Mogale City and 152 in Sebokeng.
Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela welcomed the latest enforcement results, saying sustained law-enforcement operations remain critical to improving compliance, combating lawlessness and protecting road users across the province.
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“Every unsafe vehicle removed from our roads represents a potential tragedy prevented. Our message is clear: Compliance is not optional. Public transport operators have a responsibility to ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy and that drivers are competent and licensed,” said Diale-Tlabela.
The MEC said efforts to engage the taxi industry regarding drivers operating without valid licences have been intensified, adding that the practice undermines road safety efforts. She reiterated that only competent, licensed drivers should operate on public roads.
Diale-Tlabela said the latest results reinforce the department’s commitment to restoring discipline and strengthening compliance across Gauteng’s roads.
“Our #RemoveSkorokoro campaign is about changing behaviour and creating a culture of compliance. We are not only issuing notices; we identify unsafe vehicles, deal with unlicensed drivers, and take action where required,” she said.
She further warned that the operations would continue and that enforcement action would follow where non-compliance is found.
The GTI, in collaboration with the RTMC and other law-enforcement agencies, will continue to intensify enforcement operations aimed at improving compliance and contributing to safer roads and public transport across Gauteng.
