16 Dec 2019

The Minister of Transport and Communications Mr Thulagano Segokgo says Palapye has 395 authorised taxis, and 88 authorised combis (mini-buses).

Answering a question in Parliament, he said out of the 395 authorised taxis, only 359 taxis were operational while out of 88 authorised mini-buses, only 24 were operational.

He however said they were not aware that passenger permits for taxis and minibuses have been suspended in Palapye. He explained that the current 359 authorised taxis serviced the entire Palapye village including Extension 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

“The last sitting of the Transport Advisory Board (TAB) responsible for Palapye and surrounding areas was held from September 18 and 19, 2019 and the number of applications adjudicated for Palapye taxis was 20 while 4 was for minibuses,” he said.

Minister Segokgo said  from the adjudication the Transport Controller rejected all the applications for taxis due to various reasons including over subscription and all the minibus applicants did not turn up for the board sitting hence they were all rejected.

He further said the Ministry was not aware that the applicants for passenger transport permits in Palapye never received communication from the Department of Road Transport and Safety (DTRS).

He said communication with applicants was in relation to Regulation 8 of the road transport (permits) act cap 69:03

He also stated that TAB sittings were conducted in terms of Regulation 4 of the Road Transport (Permits) Act.

Mr Segokgo said while he was satisfied with the process of handling outgoing mail they would look into other options to compliment the current delivery mechanism.

Member of Parliament for Palapye Mr Onneetse Ramogapi had asked the Minister if he was aware that passengers transport permits for taxis and minibuses have been suspended in Palapye while there was a public outcry that there were few taxis.

He also asked whether he was aware that the applicants for passenger transport permits in Palapye never receive communication from the Department of Road Transport and Safety while the department insisting that the communication was sent by post but without any proof, and plans on improving the effective delivery of outgoing mail. Ends