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News Archive February 2011 Taxis scrapped in BRT milestone
| Taxis scrapped in BRT milestone |
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| Tuesday, 08 February 2011 |
More than 350 taxis were scrapped when the owners handed over their operating licences and officially bought their shares in PioTrans, the company contracted to run Rea Vaya.
The end result
REA VAYA has reached another milestone with the first Bus Operating Company formally handed over to the taxi industry – the shareholders of the Phase 1A company.
At the same time, the taxi owners handed over their taxi operating certificates and more than 350 taxis for scrapping.
"Today we celebrate a major milestone in the life of the taxi industry and of our country," Minister of Transport Sibusiso Ndebele said at the handover, on 7 February. He also congratulated the City for working with the industry, adding that the project should be judged from whence it came.
"Five years ago this was a dream," said Executive Mayor Amos Masondo. Its implementation was now cause for celebration. "It always seems impossible until it's done."
Former taxi owners from the Greater Johannesburg Taxi Council and Top Six Management, now own 66,7 percent of the shares in the Bus Operating Company. The balance is owned by the City of Johannesburg.
The new bus company, PioTrans, has appointed a board that includes the 13 taxi operators who invested in it. Also on the board are Sicelo Mabaso, the chairperson; Victor Cordoba, the chief executive; Dumisani Mntambo, the deputy chief executive; and Eric Motshwane, the director of corporate affairs.
The operating contract, Ndebele pointed out, was worth R184-million a year and would run for 12 years. Scrapping taxisThe event took place in the scrapping yard in Nancefield, Soweto, surrounded by numerous unroadworthy taxis. After the batteries were removed, the taxis were placed into a compactor which crushed them into a rectangular shape about a metre-and-a-half in size.
This metal will be recycled as scrap. It was the largest scrapping exercise to date. PioTrans createdRea Vaya's Bus Operating Company was originally set up as an interim measure, pending the raising of share capital and the scrapping of taxis by the industry. This interim company, Clidet, handed over to the new company, PioTrans, at the beginning of February.
Shareholders in PioTrans are the nine taxi operator investor companies (TOICs) and one trust that have been working closely with the City in the creation of Rea Vaya. Proceeds from the scrapping of the taxis were used to buy shares. Each shareholder had to pay an amount of R54 000.
There are now 316 operators who are shareholders. Representatives of Fanalca, an experienced Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operator from South America, are helping the taxi industry run the new company.
One of the crucial agreements during deliberations between Rea Vaya and the taxi industry was the employment of people affected by the BRT; it was agreed that one employee per affected vehicle would be given a job. As a result, 200 former taxi employees got work as bus drivers and 150 were employed at Rea Vaya stations as ambassadors and marshals. Rea VayaRea Vaya is the City's flagship public transport project. It seeks to roll back the legacy of apartheid spatial planning and poor public transport infrastructure, and to improve the quality of life.
Minister of Transport Sibusiso Ndebele stands alongside Sipho Khanyi as he bids farewell to his old taxi
Johannesburg adopted the BRT as a long-term mass transit solution in 2006, with the first buses up and running along the trunk route from the end of August 2009.
Rea Vaya transports an average of 30 000 passengers a day, with some 1 313 trips over 19 200 kilometres a day, which adds up to 500 000 litres of diesel every day. About 1 100 people are employed to ensure a fast and professional service as 143 buses make their way through some 30 stations.
"Today we stand tall in that the BRT will change the lives of residents," said Mabaso, the PioTrans chairperson, reflecting on the latest milestone in the project. Turning to the executive mayor and his team, he added: "The commitment displayed was immeasurable. We appreciate what you have done. I salute you."
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