OPINION
Taxi recapitalisation programme should involve the entire industry’s value chain
Scheme failing to move forward because the old, unroadworthy vehicles are still worth more to taxi owners on the road than the R124,000 scrapping allowance on offer
Just before the elections, former transport minister Dr Blade Nzimande announced a new taxi recapitalisation scheme focused on removing older, unroadworthy minibus taxis from the country’s roads, thereby increasing vehicle safety for drivers, their passengers and other road users.
The Taxi Recapitalisation scheme is not a new thing. First introduced in 2006 with a target of removing 100,000 old vehicles from the road, the target later increased to 135,000. While the programme had some initial successes, the number of taxis scrapped over the years has dwindled. By the end of 2017, around 70,000 old taxis had been scrapped. By the end of September last year, a total of 72,653 old taxis had been scrapped and a total amount of R4.4bn was paid in scrapping allowances...
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