The Executive Mayor of Rustenburg, Clr Mpho Khunou, met on the 25 January 2012 with the leaders of the 21 Taxi Associations as part of the on-going engagement around the introduction of the new public transport system due to be launched in 2015.

The Taxi Industry voiced concerns over various issues relating to the current taxi operations, unlawful taxi ranks and problems around operating licenses, but reiterated their commitment to work towards the implementation of the new RRT public transport operations in 2015.

The Taxi Industry was also presented the feedback from last year’s Taxi Study Tour to the Rea Vaya operations in Johannesburg and MyCiTi operations in Cape Town. The purpose of the tour was to allow key representatives of Rustenburg based minibus-taxi operators to meet and engage with colleagues in other cities, in order to learn from their experiences in implementing integrated public transport systems including Bus Rapid Transit. The findings from research showed that the delegation found the tour very beneficial and interesting in light of the transition to happen in Rustenburg.

Yesterday’s meeting also gave operators the opportunity to discuss the suggested process that will precede the Taxi Negotiating Forum (TNF), the committee responsible for the negotiations leading up to the system’s completion in 2015 and will comprise selected representatives of all directly affected taxi operators.

RRT Director, Marks Rapoo spoke at the meeting, “Following the Taxi Study Tour, we listened to the industry’s comments and noted that the appointment of experts for the industry during the negotiations process is key to its success and therefore must be given priority. “

To achieve consensus, the formation of an interim taxi structure was approved. The purpose of the interim committee will be to get independent expert advice and work with the RRT project team to determine who is directly affected by the project. The Interim structure will also act as the representative party of the industry until the final Taxi Negotiating Forum (TNF) is formed.

Rapoo adds, “After the directly affected operators are identified then there will be engagement with the Taxi Industry to confirm these operators. They will then need to decide on a representative structure (TNF) that will negotiate with the RLM on various aspects of the new system, including the business evaluation process, compensation model, company formation and contract negotiations.”

“From this meeting, we are now working towards a smooth transition from Taxi operations to a modern public transport service. We are now proceeding with Step 1 of the 6 Step road map where we will agree with the industry who the directly affected operators will be, and the collation of vital route and business information,” notes Rapoo.

A follow up meeting will take place in February this year with the agreed interim members.

By 2015 up to 250,000 commuters in Rustenburg will have access to a leading modern, efficient, safe and affordable public transport network no less than 1km from their homes and places of work.