Picture for illustration. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
The department of transport has set a target of 3,750 unroadworthy minibus taxis that it plans to destroy by end of March 2024.
According to department of transport spokesperson Collen Msibi, while there may be more than 3,750 unroadworthy minibus taxis on the road, the target was set in relation to the budget per vehicle.
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When a taxi operator brings in their unroadworthy minibus taxi to be scrapped, the government pays a compensation amount of R151,000 per vehicle.
This, according to the department, is aimed at reducing these vehicles on the roads to reduce accidents.
“We encourage taxi operators to bring their vehicles to be crushed, they have proven that they’re able to do that. In the past 18 months, we have managed to scrap about 81,000 vehicles and in so doing, we have been able to pay about R5.6 billion in the scrapping allowance.
“For us, it’s quite a huge victory because when we started this 18 years ago, prophets of doom said it would not work. It is working, it continues to and it’s a huge success to us,” Msibi told Newzroom Afrika on Monday.
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“When you bring your vehicle, we must also give you a scrapping allowance and in this case, it’s about R151,000. We need to look at our coffers and see if we can afford a bigger number. In this case we’ve set 3,750.”
To those who say R151,000 is not enough for the taxi operators to buy a new vehicle, Msibi said the government was not looking to buy the unroadworthy minibus taxis, but to “meet them halfway”.
“The scrapping allowance we’re not buying somebody’s car, but we’re saying we’re meeting you halfway. When we started in 2006 it was R50,000, it’s sitting at R151,000 now. We’re saying this is just compensation for your old taxi, which if we were to compare, the taxi which we scrap is worth far less than what we’re offering.
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“This is not to buy taxi operators a car and I think they understand that, hence the huge number of taxi operators who bring in their taxis to be scrapped.”
Releasing the Easter Road Safety Statistics last month, Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga said 430 vehicles were discontinued because of road unworthiness related issues.
The country also recorded 185 fatal crashes, with 225 fatalities, as opposed to the same period the previous year when the country recorded 135 fatal crashes that resulted in 161 fatalities.
An increase in fatalities was recorded in all provinces except in Mpumalanga, Western Cape and the North West.
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