NELSPRUIT – The Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport (DPWRT) is urging taxi, bus and any other public transport operators to apply for temporary operating licenses, if they will be taking special trips ferrying passengers on the routes which is outside their operating licenses during the Easter period.
The department will be out in full force during the Easter period, checking if operators are carrying the required documentations.
The department will be intensifying its law enforcement operation in a bid to monitor if operators are carrying the necessary documentation such as a valid temporary operating license as well as their driver’s license.
Operators are urged to abide by the law or face prosecution. If they do not have the documents, they can apply at the Operating Licensing Board in the district offices of the department. The application should specify the group to be conveyed (e.g. ZCC church members) for the duration of the trip, date on which it will occur, a detailed route description as well as the stopping places along the routes. The application is subject to approval only if the board is satisfied that the existing service to such area is not sufficient to meet the demand and that the applicant would not disrupt the existing service.
A temporary operating license is issued to an existing operator who wants to convey an organized group of passengers, who are travelling from the same starting point to a pre-arranged destination as a unit with the sole mutual purpose of attending a common event e.g. sports, funeral, wedding, church gathering, a picnic or any form of entertainment or recreation.
Temporary operating licenses are issued on the basis of one per trip and not one temporary operating license to cover more than one trip. Operators who need more information about the registration of special permit during the Easter period can contact Mr Majuda Matome at 013-766-8978 during office hours.
