Prioritising the safety of commuters
SANDTON – The initiative has been endorsed by the City of Johannesburg, the Department of Transport, the Department of Education and the Gauteng Province.
The Supplier Development Initiative (SDI) Force has partnered with the Bridge Taxi Finance and First National Bank (FNB) to implement the Adopt-a-Safe Passage initiative for commuters.
The initiative aims to priorities the health and safety of taxi commuters through sanitisation and decontamination.
According to SDI Force co-founder Brad Fisher, the stringent measures which have been implemented by the organisation aim to decrease the risk of infection in taxis by up to 80 per cent.
“These vehicles are integral to our economy, transporting up to 70 per cent of our national workforce daily. However, with the threat of Covid-19 still looming large, taxis are high-risk spaces and pose serious challenges to the commuters who rely on them,” he said.
The initiative has been endorsed by the City of Johannesburg, the Department of Transport, the Department of Education and the Gauteng Province.
The need for objective and scalable interventions across public transport sectors are needed, to assist in the fight against the spread of #Covid19SA #JoburgCares ^LM pic.twitter.com/JHu2PcE2Da
— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) June 4, 2020
“Bridge Taxi Finance and FNB have together contributed R6-million to the initiative. This money will be used for the hard costs needed to make 7,000 Gauteng taxis Covid-compliant and safer for their commuters,” added Fisher.
Johannesburg executive mayor Geoff Makhubo inspected the initiative in action, evening traveling in a taxi from Alexandra to Sandton to ensure that the protocols are upheld.
80% of South Africans use taxis to commute on a dailly basis. At the Sandton Taxi rank sanitizing and screening of drivers continues. This will be standard at arrival for all Taxis. #WeServeJoburg #Covid_19SA pic.twitter.com/lnGg6ZVsG8
— Geoff Makhubo (@GeoffMakhubo) June 4, 2020
“I like what I see, the taxis have been kitted out to respond to the new normal and I am confident that the taxi industry will uphold these measures,” said the mayor.
Related articles:
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/276764/lesufi-oversees-readiness-at-bryanston-high/
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/277213/mediclinic-morningside-fully-operational/
