Concerns over scholar transport safety following tragic taxi crash in KZN
Recent accidents involving scholar transport in KwaZulu-Natal have raised the alarm about the safety of vehicles and drivers responsible for transporting learners.
South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) KwaZulu-Natal office manager Sfiso Shangase said: “We think there is a dark cloud hanging around because when we look at this carefully, scholar transport operators started transporting using vans. Now they have switched to vehicles suitable for transporting communities.
“Now we need to look at where and from whom they are getting these suitable vehicles, and what conditions they are in. However, we are happy they discarded vans because they are not built to transport communities.
Shangase said they also need to look at whether the drivers are suitable to drive these vehicles.
“Having a Code 8 (driver’s licence) doesn’t mean you can transport communities. There are rules and regulations, and you must be accustomed to driving vehicles transporting communities because a vehicle without an occupant is not the same as a vehicle with 15 people.”
On Tuesday morning, Santaco KZN leaders visited the families of the pupils who died in a taxi crash in Imbali township in Pietermaritzburg last Thursday.
Shangase said they left donations with the families they visited and offered to help with the childrens’ burials.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma said the driver who disappeared in Impendle on Monday morning, after a scholar transport accident, has been arrested.
The driver, holding only a learner’s licence, violated the National Land Transport Act by transporting learners without a Professional Driving Permit (PrDP).
“The arrested driver lost control of his unroadworthy minibus taxi, and it plunged off KwaKhetha Bridge on the P127. About 20 pupils were seriously injured,” Duma said.
Duma said this is the third accident involving a school learner transport in the uMgungundlovu District.
“We are calling on the South African National Taxi Council in KwaZulu-Natal to look into these accidents involving taxi associations and private scholar transport. There are many unroadworthy vehicles that are used in private scholar transport,” Duma said.
He said they have partnered with the Vehicle Testing Association (VTA), a Retail Motor Industry Organisation member, that represents private vehicle testing stations involved in testing and issuing roadworthy certificates in accordance with the National Road Traffic Act and SABS 10047.
“We have agreed to work together to isolate those that are operating vehicles without roadworthy certificates and to ensure that those issuing fraudulent certificates are arrested,” Duma said.
He said that as October, Transport Month, approaches, they will announce their collaboration with the VTA to achieve the following:
- Stricter legislation for the taxi and scholar transport industry, including driver vetting, vehicle standards, and oversight.
- Enforce stricter compliance and accountability measures provincially, with transparent reporting and independent audits.
- Require biannual certificates of roadworthiness for heavy passenger vehicles, replacing the current annual requirement.
- Inspect all minibuses within KZN at accredited municipal or private centres, aligned with route permits.
thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za