The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) has warned against hub criminality in the taxi industry, reaffirming its commitment to law enforcement, road safety and regulatory compliance.
Speaking at a media briefing on the 2025/2026 festive season road safety report, Santaco CEO Motlhabane Abnar Tsebe, alongside transport minister Barbara Creecy and her deputy Mkhuleko Hlengwa, said the industry would not tolerate members taking the law into their own hands.
“No member in our industry must take the law into their own hands. The taxi industry remains proud and essential transport for South Africa’s commuting public,” said Tsebe.
His remarks follow a shooting incident in November last year when one person was killed and two others wounded after e-hailing vehicles were attacked by an unknown suspect, highlighting ongoing tensions in the transport sector.
“We reaffirm our commitment to working closely with government and [law] enforcement to eradicate criminality in the sector, to look at road safety, protect legitimate operators and build a safe, fair and sustainable transport system for all law-abiding South African transport businesses.”
Criminal activity must be dealt with through proper legal channels.
These unregulated operations pose serious safety risks and undermine a fair transport operating environment. This is where criminality comes in.
— Motlhabane Abnar Tsebe, Santaco CEO
“We are saying where criminal activity arises, it must be addressed through established legal processes.”
Tsebe said as part of its safety interventions, Santaco is rolling out vehicle-linked breathalyser systems and enhanced monitoring technology.
“Before the driver takes a trip,he must go through a breathalyser.
“The breathalyser will be connected to a car. If it senses alcohol, the car won’t start. After a number of kilometres, he must do it again. The camera system in our cars will help us monitor that drivers do the right thing.”
Tsebe said the organisation was intensifying road safety advocacy and comprehensive industry training across the full ecosystem, including drivers, marshals, patrollers, schedulers and administrative staff.
Reflecting on safety gains over the years, Tsebe said the taxi industry had made significant progress since the launch of the Hlokomelang Safety Campaign.
“When the taxi industry introduced the Hlokomelang Safety Campaign in 2010, it was responsible for nearly 48% of accidents during peak travel periods. Since then, through focused leadership and close collaboration with the department of transport, agencies and private sector partners, we have driven a significant reduction in accidents,” he said.
“This progress would not have been possible without unity of purpose and a shared destination.”
On November 30 2025, Santaco rolled out a nationwide intensified road safety and customer service campaign under its Thlokomela flagship programme, focusing mainly on taxi ranks.
“We targeted mostly taxi ranks because that’s where the trouble starts,” said Tsebe.
The campaign began in the Free State and expanded nationally with afocus on long-distance taxi ranks and national roads in partnership with institutions including the RTMC, SAPS and provincial transport departments.
Tsebe emphasised the compulsory use of relief drivers on long-distance routes, citing fatigue as a major contributor to fatal crashes.
“The one [crash] in the Eastern Cape was purely because of fatigue. Drivers cannot drive long distances, trying to make money in one day when we have 365 days to do business. The lives of our customers are important.”
Tsebe announced the accelerated rollout of the Santaco Recruitment Agency to improve accountability and compliance.
“We need to know who is driving our cars. We are coming up with data from associations, regions and provinces, so we are responsible.”
Santaco is also clamping down on drivers without valid licences and professional driving permits, working alongside law enforcement during road operations.
“The industry must adopt technology more effectively to strengthen safety monitoring, surveillance and fleet management.”
Tsebe raised serious concern over the proliferation of illegal seven-seater vehicles operating as unregulated shuttle services, often co-ordinated through WhatsApp groups.
“These unregulated operations pose serious safety risks and undermine a fair transport operating environment. This is where criminality comes in,” he said.
He warned that failure to address the issue could lead to violence.
“There is a real risk of escalation into regrettable incidents of violence, and these have to be quelled before they gain prominence. We don’t want the name ‘taxi violence’ associated with our industry again. We are a taxi business,” said Tsebe.
He welcomed recent arrests of patrollers in Limpopo, saying the action demonstrated lawlessness would not be tolerated.
Tsebe said Santaco committed to:
- strengthening collaboration with government and law enforcement;
- expanding continuous training at all levels of the taxi industry;
- sustaining the Tokamela Road Safety Campaign;
- fast-tracking recruitment systems and technology-driven compliance solutions;
- deepening partnerships with civil society, the private sector and health institutions; and
- maintaining an open-door policy with commuter formations.
He confirmed Santaco was conducting back-to-school vehicle inspections to ensure scholar transport safety.
TimesLIVE
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