The National Department of Transport said it is aiming to scrap more than 3 000 unroadworthy taxis over the next five months in an attempt to improve passenger comfort and the standard of taxis on the road.
Among the available means of public transport, the taxi industry transports the largest number of passengers on any given day. According to Department of Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi, unroadworthy vehicles were the largest contributors to road accidents.
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The aim to scrap 3 750 unsafe taxis forms part of the Government’s Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP) as it approaches its 18th anniversary in October this year.
The TRP is a government intervention designed to bring safe, effective, reliable, affordable and accessible taxi operations through the introduction of New Taxi Vehicles (NTVs).
Since its launch in 2006, more than 81 000 old taxi vehicles have been scrapped, with over R5.6 billion in scrapping allowance paid out to taxi owners in return.
‘Today, the majority of taxi vehicles meet all the safety requirements that were introduced through the TRP which included, among others, safety belts and rollover bars,’ added Msibi.
Through the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme, the government has ensured the following changes:
- Introduction of safety requirements for passengers in the NTVs.
- Comfort for passengers by insisting on the size and number of seats in the NTVs.
- Promotion of accessibility in the size and number of seats in the NTVs
- Branding and colour coding of taxi vehicles so that legal taxis can be identified and differentiated from illegal ones, and so that members of the public can easily identify a taxi vehicle.
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Picture: Taxi Recapitalisation Programme South Africa / Facebook
