8000 Gauteng Taxis wait for licences

Inexcusable inefficiency has led to a situation where more than 8 000 taxi operators are awaiting operating licences. This is why the SA National Taxi Council (SANTACO) is going to court because operating licenses are not speedily available for taxis procured under the taxi recapitalisation scheme.

In response to a recent DA question in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature regarding the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport's (GDRT) Annual Report , I made specific reference to the tardy response times in obtaining not only taxi licences but all transport licenses required in Gauteng.

The GDRT seems to believe that communicating with anyone is an annoyance and even questions posed via the Speaker's office by Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature are often not answered or answered with such arrogant, dismissive, non-informative ‘responses' as to make the exercise futile.

While the taxi industry is certainly not problem free, legitimate taxi operators running on preapproved routes who have undertaken a recapitalisation option should be able to obtain the necessary licenses without delays. The inept GDRT has not provided adequate, affordable, reliable and safe public transport and the taxi industry has saved their necks by providing a viable private sector method of moving large numbers of commuters daily. As  there is little alternative to taxis at present, they should be allowed to obtain licenses freely, if compliant.

Statement issued by Neil Campbell, DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Roads and Transport, December 3 2013

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