TAXI UNITS

Thirty-nine traffic officers of the KZN Department of Transport are making steady progress in their specialist training course to deal with taxi violence in the province, and in five weeks time the department will have a fully-fledged unit dealing with the continuing fighting in the public transport industry.

Due to the fact that conflict is deeply entrenched in the taxi industry in South Africa, and KwaZulu-Natal in particular, there are consequently compelling reasons for the creation of a provincial specialist enforcement authority under the ambit of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport. Reliance can be placed on this unit by those in authority to carry out dedicated and professional enforcement towards compliance, order, safety and the promotion of orderly growth in the taxi and transportation industries.

There are three main concerns that make this taxi unit a necessity:

• On-going conflict in the industry;
• Discontentment of commuters; and
• Disorderly conduct of business.

The total effect of these concerns is that this has also become a road safety issue and there is a lack of concentrated enforcement and monitoring. The response to taxi violence is more reactive and based on terms of protocols set by the KwaZulu-Natal Transport Violence Provincial Priority Committee. There are approximately 262 registered taxi associations in the province, with 14 747 members. There are also an estimated 21 630 registered minibus taxis. The number of illegal taxis further exasperates the problem and these take the form of minibus-taxis, Ventures and the latest trend, bakkies.

This has all contributed to the tensions, which manifest themselves as violence and which requires the attention of a dedicated and specialist unit. Recent attacks on passengers and taxi operators highlight the importance of such a unit.

Since 1994, the Department of Transport in KwaZulu-Natal has been engaged in a comprehensive review of all legislation pertaining to the taxi industry.

More specifically, the Taxi Enforcement Conference that was hosted on the 21^st and 22^nd April 2002 by the Alexander Judicial Commission of Inquiry into taxi violence in KwaZulu-Natal was hailed a tremendous success. This conference was held to ensure that all role players involved in the area of enforcement could contribute to the legislative review. The conference objective was to explore areas of concern and to make recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness of both criminal and traffic enforcement.

Representatives included the SAPS provincial Commissioner - Commissioner Khanyile and many of his senior staff, Durban Metro Police including Director Manzi, senior Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) personnel whose delegation was led by Director John Schnell, taxi council representatives and delegates from many of the province’s local authorities.

Concrete recommendations emanated from this conference, which were to be transformed into practice. One of the principal recommendations were that an industry specific enforcement body be established, which will work closely with the SAPS, Durban Metro Police, Scorpions, Directorate of Public Prosecutions and Intelligence Agencies, plus representatives from the Taxi Council.

Therefore, the birth of KwaZulu-Natal’s Taxi Unit – another innovation for South Africa from the KZN Department of Transport.

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