Fresh funding vital to keep safety incentive project alive

THE Western Cape’s Blue Dot pilot project, which incentivised taxi drivers to improve and adopt safer driving habits, could be scrapped because funding has dried up.

Over a year ago, the project hailed as a “game-changer”, was introduced by the Western Cape Department of Transport which is now scrambling to secure funds to continue and expand the pilot beyond September.

This is when the programme is scheduled to come to an end.

The project came into effect in May last year, in line with calls from the industry for government support.

It was seen as a move towards the subsidisation and formalisation of the industry.

Spokesperson for the Transport MEC, Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka, said given the programme’s success and potential to reshape public transport, alternative funding sources were being sought.

“We have called on the national government to support the pilot and provide a funding allocation. We have also had engagements with international donor agencies and the private sector in an attempt to secure their support,” said Makoba-Somdaka.

The SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) in Western Cape urged the provincial government to extend the programme and expand it to include as many taxis and routes as possible.

Chairperson Mandla Hermanus said cancellation of the programme would erode the traction gained.

Hermanus also said the programme’s continuation and expansion would help deal with the proliferation of illegal operators and taxi violence.

Spokesperson for Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) Andile Seyamo said there was a marked improvement in driving skills and compliance to other road regulations.

“As a taxi industry that does not receive a subsidy from the government the programme helped by rewarding good and safe behaviour and compliance with incentives of up to R2 500 a month,” said Seyamo.

Makoba-Somdaka described the programme as, “a huge success, resulting in a 50% reduction in speeding among participants”.

More than 500 operators and 900 drivers met the eligibility requirements to participate in the programme and about 880 vehicles were branded, fitted with a tracker and monitored across 150 routes, she said.

Makoba-Somdaka said the programme also empowered minibus taxi passengers and other road users to rate the quality of the service via cellphone.

“We’ve received over 27 000 ratings to date and on a scale of very good to very bad, passengers rate Blue Dot as good,” she said.

City of Cape Town Traffic Services spokesperson, Maxine Bezuidenhout, said the City supported the concept.

“However, it must be noted that the programme has not been rolled out en masse, and so the City’s Traffic Service has not noticed any significant shifts in the behaviour of (taxi drivers),“she said.

A driver on the Hanover Park to Cape Town route vouched for the project’s success.

“I now think twice before speeding or driving recklessly on the road because I have these eyes on me – the tracker and the passengers.

“I have to ensure their safety and not put money first,” said the driver who did not want to be identified.