Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said from April next year government would introduce a subsidy for the industry.
Commuters wait to enter their taxi at Bree taxi rank in Johannesburg. Picture: AFP
CAPE TOWN – The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) on Saturday committed to working with government to transform and formalise the taxi industry.
The three-day national taxi lekgotla concluded on Saturday, where a declaration was adopted to tackle challenges confronting the industry.
The director-general of the Department of Transport, Alec Moemi, said some of the key issues brought up were around funding and subsidies.
“This has been a major contestation on the side of the industry, that the government is expecting too much of them, yet there are no subsidies. The government’s approach all along has been to say it’s too expensive and unaffordable. But now we do recognise that the two must go together,” Moemi said.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said from April next year government would introduce a subsidy for the industry.
But in order for this to happen government wanted the sector to be formalised.
Santaco president Phillip Taaibosch said the public perceived taxi bosses and their drivers as a law unto themselves, but this should change.
“On the issue of professionalization, we will now begin to use our training centre and the Transport Education Training Authority (TETA) to train the operators and drivers,” he said.