On Wednesday, 04 October 2017, the Minister of Transport, Mr Joe Maswanganyi will be joined by the Deputy Minister of Transport Ms Sindisiwe Chikunka, the Chief  Executive Officer of the Taxi Scrapping Administrator Mr. Visham Naidoo and its Executive Officials together with key transport stakeholders and senior government officials during a walk-about and physical scrapping of old taxis, indicating that the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP) is well on track.

The Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP) was approved for implementation by Cabinet in 2004, for a period of seven (7) years, at a total cost of R7.7 billion.  Of the total amount, R5.5 billion was set aside for the scrapping of Old Taxi Vehicles (OTV) while R2.2 billion was to be utilized, among others for systems development and support, implementation of a law enforcement strategy and the development of a regulatory environment for taxi industry.

As part of this scrapping event, Minister Maswanganyi will bring members of the media up to speed regarding progress achieved and challenges in the Recapitlisation Programme to date as well as an update on the conversion of taxi vehicles.

The TRP was introduced amongst other reasons to ensure that old, unsafe taxis are taken off our roads and also to regulate the industry.  With road and passenger safety being paramount, the TRP takes into account that  old taxis do not have safety belts, are small, uncomfortable, not roadworthy and therefore always pose a danger for commuters, motorists and other road users in general.

Members of the media are invited to join the Minister during the event and the details are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, 04 October 2017
Time: 10h30 for 11h00am
Venue: Taxi Scrapping Administrator Site, Cnr Kraft & North Reef Road, 51 Rietfontein, 63IR, Elandsfontein

Members of the media who will be attending are requested to confirm their attendance with Tshegofatso Maake on 063 281 9453 or via email on maaket@dot.gov.za

Inquiries: Ishmael Mnisi: 072 566 0827