The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport said issuing operating licences to scholar transport operators is a key step towards improving safety for pupils travelling to and from school.
This comes as the department on Tuesday handed over operating licences to eligible scholar transport operators, a move officials say will strengthen compliance and accountability in the sector.
Speaking to The Citizen on the sidelines of the handover, Gauteng transport MEC spokesperson Lesiba Mpya said the licences were not only regulatory tools but also economic enablers that encourage operators to prioritise safe services.
Licences ‘create accountability’
Mpya said operating licences provide operators with economic certainty, which in turn motivates them to ensure safer transport services for pupils.
“The operating licence firstly, it is an economic tool. It’s an economic enabler. It’s like more or less your title deed, which gives you security of tenure,” Mpya said.
“This gives you economic certainty, and where you are deriving economic value as an operator, you take extraordinary measures to make sure that your service is safe, reliable and affordable.”
He said national legislation already places the responsibility for passenger safety on operators.
“Even legislation, the National Road Traffic Act, Section 49, expects that the owners must make sure that people are safe when they are on board, taken off the vehicle safely and transported safely. That responsibility rests with the owner and driver of that vehicle,” Mpya said.
Increased enforcement on the roads
The department also plans to intensify law enforcement to ensure scholar transport vehicles comply with regulations.
Mpya said safety would remain “non-negotiable” and warned that authorities would not compromise when it comes to enforcing the law.
“We are certainly going to increase boots on the ground. Enforcement is going to be the order of the day,” he said.
“We are not going to be mortgaging or negotiating law enforcement with anyone because we believe that the safety of people is non-negotiable.”
He added that the department is working closely with the Road Traffic Management Corporation to strengthen oversight and enforcement operations.
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Checks before licences are issued
According to Mpya, several safety and compliance checks take place before an operating licence is approved.
“These applications go to Saps so that we are able to have police clearances. We have to know who this person is and what they do,” Mpya said.
He said the department also scrutinises the applicant’s business background and relationships to prevent potential conflicts of interest.
“In some instances we even check the relationship you have with anyone in the department because there have been cases where people are related to officials, and that causes a huge problem,” he said.
Mpya added that the department had also introduced internal spot checks and lifestyle audits to root out corruption among officials.
“We want to clean all rot that might have existed for many years that contributed to us not being able to efficiently issue these operating licences.”
Illegal operators face penalties
Authorities warned that operators transporting pupils without valid licences would face strict consequences.
Mpya said the MEC has the power under the National Land Transport Act to take “extraordinary measures” against non-compliant operators.
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“She can revoke an operating licence, revoke an application and even impound vehicles,” he said.
“A vehicle that is not compliant in terms of the National Road Traffic Act has been removed off the road.”
He said illegal operators often pay a regulated fee to recover impounded vehicles, but their operating discs are confiscated, forcing them to restart the licensing process.
Lessons from past tragedies
Mpya said recent accidents involving scholar transport vehicles had reinforced the need for stricter enforcement.
“The biggest lesson is that we have got to double our efforts in terms of law enforcement,” he said.
“We have lost children… those are not just statistics. Those were children with names, families and futures.”
“We cannot leave things to chance. We cannot negotiate with lawlessness, and we are tackling it head on.”
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