Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has committed to working with the taxi industry to ensure that the industry fulfils its role in the transport ecosystem with greater safety.

‘Taxis are part of community life, and as per the National Household Travel Survey, now carry eighty 3% of those who use public transport.

‘During this term, I pledge to work with the industry to ensure it takes its place in a safer, greener transport ecosystem. We will work together to decrease levels of conflict and violence, which pose a significant risk to the sector and to commuters,’ the Minister said when tabling the Budget Vote of the department at Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport in Cape Town on Monday.

Creecy said the department will, in the short-term, continue to assist the industry to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘The Taxi Relief Fund, created by the department to mitigate the negative financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the taxi industry, has been extended in the past year to
provide further support to the industry.

‘The Taxi Recapitalisation Strategy continues to deal with the scrapping of unroadworthy vehicles, but also aims to regularise and professionalise the industry by improving safety and incorporating the industry in transport planning processes,’ she said.

Climate resilience

The Minister said as the department continues to ‘stabilise and optimise our existing transport sector’, new risks and opportunities continue to arise.

‘Climate change, as we have seen over the last couple of years, poses a significant risk to our built infrastructure in general and our transport infrastructure in particular. Building the climate resilience of our ports, road and rail networks is both a necessity and a new opportunity for investment, growth, economic inclusion and job creation.

‘Contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all modes of transport will become a necessity once the new Climate Bill is signed into law. Our transport sector is responsible for approximately one
tenth of our country’s CO2 emissions, and we will have to do our bit to achieve the NDP target of net-zero by 2050,’ she said.

In this regard, the Minister said, implementing the department’s Green Transport Strategy ‘will be a priority’ in this term.

‘In this next decade, transport will also be revolutionised by an acceleration of digital technology. New technologies and new global imperatives will fundamentally alter the skills requirements of those employed in the transport sector, as well as open up new value chains for new forms of economic access, ownership and employment.

‘Such innovations include operational automation and real-time tracking of shipments to assist in port management, digital signalling to modernise the management of our railway systems, the use of artificial intelligence in traffic management, and the introduction of self-driven vehicles and drones for delivery.

‘The department’s Green Transport Strategy includes investing in green energy infrastructure; promoting the uptake of al
ternative fuels such as biogas and green hydrogen; extending the rail network to provide alternative public transport, and developing ‘green procurement guidelines’, which will promote low-carbon technologies,’ she said.

Source: South African Government News Agency