Alliance with taxi industry will improve transport efficiency

30 June 2015 - 02:01 By The Times Editorial

The cake is getting smaller every day but the demand for a bigger slice of the profits in the taxi industry is increasing almost every hour. We are told that taxi associations are not only fighting over profits but are willing to shed blood to secure new routes.This situation, which is countrywide, is surely not sustainable. New solutions must be found to expand the business interests of taxi owners and drivers, and take South Africa's transport sector to another level.With thousands transported to work and other destinations every day by taxi, we cannot afford an industry that refuses to transform.We are encouraged by the City of Johannesburg's move to empower taxi operators by incorporating them into its Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system.The city's plan provides for taxi owners and bus operators to own a sizable share of the new bus service that will run from Soweto to the city.Yesterday about 150 taxi owners, and Putco, signed the Bus Operating Company Agreement to provide bus services on the Rea Vaya phase 1B route.This new scheme, we are told, will lead to some taxis being taken off the streets and replaced by an efficient bus service. The new plan is yet to be tested but it looks likely to change the game, with individual taxi owners no longer being wholly reliant on their taxis to make a living.We hope that our taxi operators and bus companies will give the new system a chance to work.We support the decision by the government to empower those who, for years, carried the public transport system on their shoulders without help from the state. It is about time that they were taken on board as we try to change the nature of public transport.The biggest challenge will be to convince the taxi warlords and yesteryear's operators that efficient public transport is the route to take to save the industry from devouring itself...

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