The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) is making strides towards a significant subsidy proposal aimed at transforming the country’s taxi industry. During a media briefing in Johannesburg on Tuesday, officials expressed the urgent need for government support, citing that the private taxi sector, which transports an estimated 70 percent of the workforce, has been left without the financial assistance enjoyed by other public transport forms.
The move comes on the heels of another distressing episode involving violence against e-hailing drivers at Maponya Mall in Soweto, allegedly perpetrated by taxi operators. The council believes that financial support could be a pivotal factor in curtailing such violence. Mandla Hermanus, SANTACO’s Public Relations Officer, stated that a subsidy would help to mitigate numerous challenges plaguing the industry. “One of the challenges we are facing is the driving behaviour of our drivers on our roads,” he explained. With financial strain on operators, the compensation model for drivers encourages reckless driving as they compete for profits.
Hermanus underscored the adverse effects of the current compensation structure, noting that aggressive competition among drivers often leads to dangerous driving habits. “If you speed, you are able to make more loads. If you make more loads, you are able to meet your financial obligations.” Thus, a subsidy could curtail such reckless driving behaviours, fostering a safer environment on South African roads.
In a landscape where new technologies and vehicles are proliferating, taxi operators feel they are at a disadvantage, especially when they compete with other subsidised transport modes. “It gets worse when you compete with modes that are subsidised to billions of rands annually, and we get nothing,” Hermanus remarked. He highlighted a glaring paradox: the government allocates substantial funds for public transport, yet the minibus taxi industry remains excluded from this financial relief despite being the primary transportation choice for many South Africans. “We always feel that as the industry, we are actually subsidising public transport,” he said.
Past discussions around financial support for the taxi industry have struggled to gain traction, often faltering on the lack of formal structures within the sector. Admitting that challenges persist, SANTACO is currently drafting a proposal outlining how a subsidy regime could be effectively implemented. “In the past, there was a commitment from government to subsidise the minibus taxi industry, but they didn’t know how,” Hermanus explained. “We are saying there are models that we can draw from to say this is what we think subsidisation for the minibus taxi industry would look like.”
As SANTACO prepares for their fresh bid, both they and the government have cautioned taxi associations against coercive practices, warning them not to enforce exclusivity on passengers or prevent motorists from choosing their preferred transport options, particularly in light of emerging competition from e-hailing sectors. The future of South Africa’s taxi industry may soon hinge not just on public support but on a collaborative effort to establish a safer, well-regulated environment for drivers and commuters alike.