Taxis: a big step forward

THE SOUTH African taxi industry draws scorn by negative things like the flouting of traffic laws, or when members inconvenience other road users by blocking roads as they did in central Joburg on Tuesday.

Yet the industry plays an important role in the life of the country. With annual revenues estimated at almost R40 billion, it is a huge part of the lifeblood of this country. It ferries 15 million passengers in 250 000 vehicles every day. In Gauteng, two-thirds of passengers use this mode of transport. People directly employed by the industry are estimated at 600 000.

Yet the industry has always operated on the margins of the formal sector.

It is plagued by infighting, and drivers accept only cash. It is also a perennial gripe that, unlike the bus industry, taxis are not subsidised.

But the industry is set to undergo a radical overall and move into the mainstream.

Commuters in Pretoria will be the first in South Africa to pay for a taxi ride using a new cashless payment system.

On Monday, the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport took a big step when it launched the Electronic Fare Collection System, which will allow commuters to just pay with a simple tap when boarding a taxi.

The system, to be piloted on the JoburgPretoria-Mabopane route, works similarly to the ones used by the Gautrain and Joburg’s Rea Vaya bus systems. Commuters will load fares at point of sale (POS) devices which will be operated by taxi rank marshals, as well as kiosks at taxi ranks and eventually in selected retail stores.

Credits are loaded onto a card, which uses the same technology as chip bank cards, and is fully compliant with all cashless payment regulations in the country. A passenger, upon entering, scans their card or QR code onto a scanner installed in the taxi and the amount is deducted.

Other positive spin-offs are that each cardholder gets accidental death cover of R25 000, and permanent disability cover of R50 000. Surely the taxi and its users have waited a long time for this.