Pretoria – Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has called for every bus and taxi on the country’s roads to be stopped and checked following two accidents that claimed the lives of 16 people on Tuesday.
Eleven people died when their bus overturned near Aberdeen on the R61 towards Beaufort West in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday night.
Earlier in the day, five people were killed in Gauteng when their bus overturned near the Murrayhill Toll Plaza, north of Pretoria.
During the month of August, at least 76 people were killed in eight separate crashes involving public transport vehicles.
“This is out of hand… We have instructed law enforcement agencies to stop and check every public transport vehicle, including buses, taxis and scholar transport vehicles, across the country with immediate effect,” Ndebele said.
As part of the new National Rolling Enforcement Plan, the month of September will be dedicated to public transport enforcement and all public transport vehicles will be monitored closely by transport authorities, he added.
“We cannot have public transport operators who are only interested in making a quick buck, no matter what,” Ndebele said.
He commended the South African National Taxi Council for its Operation Hlokomela, through which the taxi industry is monitoring its drivers and operators to ensure that they adhere to road rules. The Minister called on the bus industry to do the same.
“Basic minimum quality standards must be in place to transport passengers in a safe, efficient and reliable manner. As part of this global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, we call upon public transport operators to take responsibility for the safety of their commuters,” Ndebele said. – BuaNews
