The Vryheid Scholar Transport Association – under the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) – has raised concerns about the safety of learners being transported to and from school. Members of the association say that children in Vryheid are not safe, as many drivers of cars and kombis are operating illegally; they load up the children in the mornings but do not fetch them in the afternoons, or they fetch the learners very late from school.
Chairperson of the association, Mr Xulu, commented that, “This really disturbs our work when children are not picked up on time. This becomes our problem as the association, as we have to find some way to take them home. To make matters worse, in some cases, these young children do not know where they stay. This puts children at risk of being kidnapped and even worse, being killed.”
The members further explained that, for the safety of the learners, each and every driver of scholar transport has to abide by certain rules. Drivers should have a PDP permit; those driving kombis should have 10- to 43-seaters; all those operating kombis should be branded with a sticker in bold letters under SANTACO, depicting the association it represents; each kombi must have a permit to operate, an operating disc and a licence; and every kombi must have passenger liability in case of an accident.
“We are pleading with all parents who use scholar transport to please check the kombi, whether it has a sticker or not. If it does not have one, it means they are risking their children’s lives, as those people are operating illegally. All learners should be commuted by kombis that have SANTACO stickers.”

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The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.