Roads and Transport accelerates taxi operating licence drive, hands over more than 100 licences in Tshwane

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The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport has handed over 100 operating licences to compliant taxi operators in the City of Tshwane, reaffirming the provincial government’s commitment to ensuring public transport operators operate legally and that the backlog of operating licence applications is addressed.
The licences were issued to operators affiliated with various taxi associations in Tshwane during a handover programme held at the Department’s Tshwane Regional Offices on Thursday.
This is a result of the Department making significant progress in improving and streamlining internal administrative and operational processes to improve turnaround times 
Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, said the Department was intensifying efforts to ensure that compliant taxi operators receive their operating licences and that the public transport sector is fully compliant with regulatory requirements.
“We are committed to ensuring public transport operators do so legally. We have started issuing operating licences to taxi and other operators across the province, and we will continue with these weekly handover programmes covering different regions of Gauteng,” said the MEC.
The MEC said the Department was making progress in its efforts to eradicate the operating licence backlog and urged operators whose applications remain outstanding to engage directly with the Department.
“We are appealing to taxi operators who are not yet legal: kindly visit our offices to either apply or verify your status. We want to assist so you become compliant and operate legally.”
This is a call by the Department for operators to take responsibility for their status verification and ensuring they are in possession of valid documentation every time they are operating.
“We are appealing to operators who have received their operating licences to check their status with the Department and ensure they have the necessary documentation in their vehicles. We are engaging with traffic authorities to ensure that vehicles with valid operating licences are not impounded for that reason, unless there are other contraventions of the National Road Traffic Act,” said the MEC.
The Department said the regular issuing of operating licences is part of its broader intervention to address the backlog, improve regulatory compliance and create a more orderly and legally operated taxi industry in Gauteng.
The MEC reiterated that the responsibility to operate legally is shared between government and operators, with the Department committed to processing applications while operators must ensure they meet the necessary regulatory requirements.
 “As Department of Roads and Transport in Gauteng, we will continue to work to ensure taxi operators conduct their business legally. We are addressing the backlog, and we are committed to ensuring that compliant operators receive their operating licences,” the MEC said.
The Department will continue rolling out operating licence handover programmes in different regions of Gauteng in the coming weeks.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.