History of the Revised
Taxi Recapitalisation Programme
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basic tenets of current
recapitalisation programme
Before moving on to describe the basic tenets of current recapitalisation programme, it’s important to provide a historical perspective to better understand the current mandate of the RTRP.
In 1996, the National Taxi Task Team (NTTT) issued recommendations for improving the quality of mini bus taxi transport and its continued sustainability in South Africa. The final recommendations were to:
- Formalise and regulate the minibus taxi industry
- Implement and execute training and capacity building initiatives
- Create conditions for economic survival, sustainability and empowerment
In 1999, the idea of taxi recapitalisation was first proposed by Government.
During July 2005, National Cabinet approved a strategy for the recapitalisation of the taxi industry in South Africa. The key principle of recapitalisation was to replace the old unroadworthy taxi fleet with new safety compliant vehicles.
Old taxi vehicles are vehicles that were manufactured on or before 4 September 2006 and new taxi vehicles are vehicles manufactured from the 5 September 2006 onwards with new safety features. In addition, all the new taxi vehicles were to be white in colour, have a South African flag on both sides and a provincial Coat of Arms and route number on the front of each vehicle. These new vehicles were to be made available in the following categories:
- Minibus with a seating capacity from 10 to 16 including the driver
- Minibus with a seating capacity from 17 to 28 including the driver
- Minibus with a seating capacity from 29 to 34 including the driver
The safety requirements for the new vehicles were incorporated into the National Road Traffic Regulations and some of the safety features included:
- Type II A Brake system
- Rollover protectors
- Wheel bands
- Seat belts for all passengers
- SABS approved tyres – commercial 8 ply rated tyre of 14/185 or 14/195
- No jockey or fold up seats
- Speed governor
- Reflective markings
- Driver operated door
In 2006, the Department of Transport appointed the Taxi Scrapping Administrator (TSA) for the implementation of the scrapping component of the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP). The overarching objective of the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme was to increase road safety by removing the unroadworthy taxi vehicles off the road via the scrapping process and utilising the scrapping allowance as a deposit to recapitalise with new compliant taxi vehicles.
In 2015 a review of the TRP was established to identify the successes, gaps and challenges experienced and in addition to seek alternatives and sustainable, innovative solutions for the recapitalisation and transformation of the taxi industry
In 2017, the Department of Transport issued a review report on the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme.
In 2018, the scrapping component of the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme ended.
In March 2019, the Revised Taxi Recapitalisation Programme was implemented. The objective, significantly different to the initial TRP but the recognisable aspect of scrapping the ageing and unroadworthy fleet of mini bus taxis and recapitalisation remained. The additional elements were ushered in to ensure collaborative ownership and commercially viable projects for long term sustainability of a safe and compliant minibus taxi-type service industry.
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