POLOKWANE – The Department of Transport has issued a 60-day notice to scholar transport operators to apply for operating licences, starting Monday, following intensified roadblocks and compliance inspections.

The grace period is intended to allow operators time to regularise their paperwork without immediate vehicle impoundment.

The department, however, warned that serious safety violations such as operating unroadworthy vehicles or overloading learners, will not be tolerated.

The move follows growing concerns over child safety on provincial roads, where accidents and non-compliance remain ongoing challenges.

Violations include transporting learners in unroadworthy vehicles, failing to provide parent contracts, indemnity forms or school endorsement letters, using light delivery vehicles or bakkies, and breaching traffic laws.

MEC Violet Mathye stressed that learner safety is non-negotiable.

“Operators who ignore the rules risk losing their vehicles and facing fines,” she said, referring to recent enforcement operations that removed dozens of non-compliant vehicles from the roads.