Santaco North West spokesperson raised concerns around permit systems, illegal operations and bus services affecting business in the taxi industry.
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The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) in the North West have highlighted key challenges that negatively impact the taxi industry,
Santaco met with the MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng, last week, along with the Head of the Department and Premier, Lazarus Kagiso Mokgosi, and noted that the engagement provided an opportunity for the provincial leadership to present matters that affect operators and commuters.
Concerns
Members raised concerns around permit systems, illegal operations and bus services affecting business in the taxi industry and noted that the objective of this briefing was to find sustainable solutions through collaborative engagement.
Santaco expressed concern about how the North West Public Transport Intervention Team (NWPTIT) conducts its work and noted that the team frequently visits taxi associations and regional structures without formally notifying the relevant provincial leadership.
Santaco North West’s Provincial Secretary, Shakes Mayekani, added that while investigations are often conducted and findings are made, there is a concern that the recommendations arising from these processes are not consistently implemented.
Operating permit systems
The industry raised serious concerns regarding the current operating license system, which is frequently offline and causes significant delays.
“These recurring technical failures negatively affect operators, particularly when licences expire while the system is inaccessible, placing them at risk of losing their operating licences.”
Santaco has called for the modernisation of the system and the introduction of a reliable backup process to ensure uninterrupted service delivery.
Unregulated seven-seaters
The multiplication of seven-seater vehicles illegally operating remains a major concern, not only in the North West Province, but on a national level.
Santaco reiterated that these vehicles continue to operate outside the prescribed regulatory framework, undermining lawful public transport operators.
The taxi industry has called on law enforcement agencies to intensify enforcement efforts against illegal operations.
Bus services
The meeting also discussed the operation of subsidised commuter bus services.
Mayekani also noted that certain bus operators are not adhering to the contractual schedules and timetables approved by the Department of Transport.
“Instead, some are reportedly operating shuttle services outside the agreed framework, creating unfair competition and negatively affecting the taxi industry,” Mayekani said.
National Land and Transport Act
During the meeting, members deliberated on Section 50 (2) of the National Land Transport act, which provides for an operator to conduct more than one service, under a single operating license.
This can include scholar transport and taxi services.
Santaco emphasised that the Department should conduct proper research and consult with the relevant regional structures to determine whether the proposed operations are viable and appropriate before such approvals are granted.
Follow-up meeting
A follow-up meeting is set to convene on Tuesday to address key issues that have been presented.
Thereafter, the MEC and the Department will reconvene with Santaco North West, within 14 days to provide formal feedback and a response on the matters submitted in the meeting.
