The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) believes that the National Land Transport Amendment Bill recently signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, will help reduce violence in the transport industry.
President Ramaphosa signed this bill, which focuses on public transport regulation and safety measures, a week before commencing his second term in office.
Santaco spokesperson Rebecca Phala said the bill provides a clear and comprehensive framework needed for the transport industry.
Previously, there was confusion about the operations of e-hailing services like Uber and Bolt, which led to tensions and violence between taxi drivers and e-hailing drivers.
Phala mentioned that the new regulations should be quickly implemented so taxi operators can understand the changes.
There has been long-standing violence, with e-hailing drivers being assaulted and their cars burnt by taxi drivers who see them as competition.
Phala stressed that Santaco does not take responsibility for these violent acts, as there is no proof that their operators are involved.
However, she acknowledged that the lack of regulations has contributed to criminality and violence on the roads, and the new bill aims to address this issue.
“We’ve never taken accountability for any of those accusations because it has never been proven that our operators are responsible. We don’t take pride in being labelled as suspect number one when these incidents happen. We don’t take responsibility for any of them.
“The bigger problem here is that there is criminality and there are no regulations on road-based transport, which leads to violence, which is very regrettable,” Phala said.
