Ten passengers per minibus vehicle, says Mbalula
Minibus taxi operators will only be allowed to carry 70% of passengers, which translates to ten passengers per vehicle.
This is according to the latest regulations announced by Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula.
He backtracked on his earlier decision that taxi operators could carry a full load of passengers per minibus taxis during the COVID-19 outbreak.
However that decision was met with resounding public outcry, which subsequently compelled Mbalula to rescind his decision.
“The concerns were primarily around the 100% loading capacity and the utilisation of masks as a mitigation measure.
“After our announcement of catering for 100%, there was a public outcry about the impact of such an arrangement to the health and safety of public transport users.
“We took these issues seriously and engaged with key stakeholders, resulting in a consensus of maximizing the loading capacity to 70%,” says Transport spokesperson Ayanda Allie-Paine.
The initial regulations on COVID-19 prescribed that minibus taxi operators could only load 50% of passengers.
However, the decision by Mbalula was not met favourably by the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) and the National Taxi Alliance (NTA).
Both taxi organizations threatened with a total shutdown which would come at the expense of essential service providers.