Slow recapitalization results in no subsidy for taxi industry

Santaco says the taxi industry will never tire in its engagement with government for taxi passenger subsidy. (SABC)

The slow and incomplete government taxi recapitalization programme has been cited as one of the factors that have disadvantaged the taxi industry from receiving a subsidy.  

This was revealed by National Treasury Deputy Director-General Malijeng Ngqaleni at the 35th annual Southern African Transport conference currently underway at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria.   

Ngqaleni noted that the three modes of public transport - the Metro-rail, Gautrain and semi-private Provincial buses received two digits percentage benefit from the R167 billion spent in the last ten years.  

Other beneficiaries who received less than 10% each included various Metro Council Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) operations and municipal bus services countrywide.   

Ngqaleni says government's working with all stakeholders to find everlasting solution to the problems involving the historically marginalised industry.

"So, I think it was an is sue of historical evolution of how we have been subsidising and how the system also evolved. Obviously going forward is really acknowledging that the system works but there are things that you need to correct. We need to bring more formalities into the system and that in its self will probably require it to come also into the subsidy. But is an issue of how do you do that without actually getting them to also spend much more as we are spending in the other modes at the moment."

South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) has welcomed government's self-critic and evaluation of its taxi recapitalization and lack of subsidy in the industry as mentioned by National Treasury.

Santaco president Phillip Taaibosch says the taxi industry will never tire in its engagement with government for taxi passenger subsidy.

"Remember when the taxi industry says government looks into the subsidy of transportation we were not looking at the taxi operator. Taxi operator has been l ooking at himself and has been able to provide. We are saying how do you make sure that the poorest of the poor; the people who are not even working in South Africa - how do they manage to get from their place A to their destination points on a very cheaper basis?"  

Source: Slow recapitalization results in no subsidy for taxi industry