Issued by: SA Communication Service
The Minister of Transport, Mr Mac Maharaj, today announced a series of workshops on the metered taxi to be held in provincial centres. The workshops are intended to allow operators of metered taxis to take part in the work of the National Taxi Task Team.
"The National Taxi Task Team (NTTT) has until recently concentrated on the minibus-taxi", said Minister Maharaj. "The metered taxi is also very important, especially in the light of the tourist boom South Africa is experiencing. I have therefore set up a working group within the NTTT to look specially at the problems facing the metered taxi, and to suggest what can be done to overcome the problems and ensure a high standard of service."
The NTTT metered taxi working group includes representatives from government and the metered taxi industry, together with a number of specialist advisors. It has held a number of meetings in Pretoria and has produced a discussion document on problems and possible solutions.
"It is now time for the industry at ground level to have its say and make its input", said Minister Maharaj. "I have therefore arranged a series of workshops to be held in the provinces where there are significant numbers of metered taxis. Similar workshops may be held later in other provinces."
The workshops will be held in KwaZulu-Natal (10 June), Western Cape (18 June) and Gauteng (24 June). Details of venues and times will be announced locally.
"I am confident", concluded Minister Maharaj, "that the provincial workshops will produce valuable input to the discussion on the metered taxi. The working group has been instructed to produce its final report as quickly as possible after the workshops. I am looking forward to receiving it, and to discussing with industry leaders what changes can be implemented to make sure that users get the best possible standards, and operators get a reasonable return on their efforts."
Contact Person: Ester Crous (012) 290 2803