Taxi audit mooted despite identified issues of violence and poor customer service

The taxi industry should be regulated and audited to ensure performance is above par and that violence is eradicated and customer service is improved.

This was proposed by the executive manager for the Road Traffic Training Academy of the Road Traffic Management Corporation, Dr Hlengani Moyane, who suggested a mechanism should be put in place to measure the service provided by the industry.

Moyane was joined by Trans-port Minister Fikile Mbalula, South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) president Phil-lip Taaibosch, Stellenbosch University’s Professor Thuli Madonsela and manager of transport systems and operations at the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research Dr Mathetha Mokonyama in a webinar which formed part of the Taxi Lekgotla Public Discourse platform launched in August for public engagement on the industry.

While the transport department and stakeholders had proposed the establishment of a professional body to oversee the beleaguered taxi industry, what should be introduced is periodic auditing of operators and drivers, said Moyane.

“We audit them in terms of the support the operators give to drivers, the support they provide for driver wellness, for interventions to be in place to make sure their fleet makes a significant contribution in terms of road safety, and we audit them in compliance with load control related issues,” said Moyane.

“We have issues of violence and poor customer service in the industry. We must be able to audit them in terms of the role they play, either by ensuring we minimise violence or that it does not escalate, or that services ren-dered are improved. This proposal also creates jobs because you will need accredited taxi industry auditors,” he said.

But the industry was failed by “ridiculous” lockdown regulations which resulted in taxi operators shooting themselves in the foot by refusing to operate within the boundaries of the law, said Madonsela.

It was important to improve ethical and driven leadership in the industry, she said.

“I do believe if we had handled the lock-down regulations properly, the taxi industry wouldn’t have said it would now disobey the rules,” she said.

“The taxi industry behaving like that shot itself in the foot. The public just saw a group that refuses to operate within the boundaries of the law, even if the cause was a good cause.”

The taxi industry indeed needs the government to come in and dictate certain legal rules to ensure professionalism, said Santaco’s Taaibosch.

“We have people who are important to the taxi industry but we don’t appreciate them, like drivers, because we think they are stealing our money, but what did we do to ensure we are able to work together with the drivers?“We also have queue marshals,” he said. “

This industry is responsible for close to a million people when employment is concerned. The government needs to regulate the industry.”

– rorisangk@citizen.co.za

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