Santaco calls for increased government funding to scrap unroadworthy taxis

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) is urging the transport department to increase funding allocated to the taxi recapitalisation programme (TRP).

The programme aims to remove unroadworthy taxis from the roads and replace them with safer, compliant vehicles.

Since its inception in 2006, the TRP has scrapped about 84,247 old taxis and paid out R5.99bn in scrapping allowances to taxi operators. The scrapping allowance is valued at R159,500 per applicant.

Santaco spokesperson Rebecca Phala said the council is engaging transport minister Barbara Creecy to revisit the funding allocated to taxi operators through the TRP.

“The conversation we're having on the side with the minister is to de-risk the industry so that when this money is being given, they are not paying the exorbitant amounts we are being made to pay, especially in monthly instalments,” she said in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.

“That conversation is ongoing with the help of the government. We are also hoping the amount of money that's being given now will be re-evaluated because when you compare it with the money you require to buy a new vehicle it doesn't make much of a difference, which has led to a significantly lower uptake from operators in getting their old cars scrapped.”

She believes increased funding would help speed up the removal of unroadworthy taxis and improve road safety.

“We need to make sure the vehicles that transport South Africans are roadworthy and that's why we have on a number of occasions drawn a lot of hope in the taxi recapitalisation programme.”

Phala said through the Hlokomela Road Safety campaign, Santaco has been advocating for safety and ensuring commuters are transported in roadworthy vehicles. She noted the presence of unroadworthy taxis on the roads, particularly for local trips.

“We are aware that in some areas in Gauteng, there are vehicles that, just from looking at them, you can immediately tell would most likely fail a vehicle roadworthiness test. In terms of our long-distance taxis, though, the story is entirely different. The experience we have is most of them use the latest vehicles, most of which are bigger and a lot more comfortable. But we shouldn't be making comparisons between local and long-distance trips. The reality is all our cars should be roadworthy.”

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