Blue Dot taxi to come to an end, due to lack of funding

The South African National Taxi Council Organisation (SANTACO) in the Western Cape wants the Blue Dot Taxi programme to continue in the province.

This after the Western Cape’s Mobility MEC, Daylin Mitchell announced that the Blue Dot Taxi pilot project will come to an end on 30 November 2022, due to a lack of funds

The Blue Dot taxi programme formed 8 new regional companies (Boland, CATA, CODETA, Eden, Greater Cape Town, Mitchells Plain, Northern and Two Oceans).

The project was introduced to the public in May 2021, to improve driving behaviour and higher service quality while working to reduce the likelihood of illegal operations and violent conflict. Blue Dot has approximately 800 minibus taxis distributed across the regions of the Western Cape.

Mitchell says he will engage with national government to support the department in rolling this programme out beyond the province’s pilot.

‘’The continuation of Blue Dot remains my top ministerial priority. I call on the national government, business and other stakeholders to join us as we seek to strengthen, grow and empower the minibus taxi industry so as to provide safer public transport.‘’

‘’I will in the coming weeks engage my counter parts at local, provincial and national government to see how we can make this a South African initiative,’’ said Western Cape’s Mobility MEC, Daylin Mitchell.

Briefing the media in Cape Town on Wednesday, Santaco spokesperson, Mandla Hermanus, hopes that the project will continue.

"The discontinuation of Blue Dot is very sad for the minibus taxi industry in the Western Cape as well as the millions of passengers that we transport on a daily basis. The industry is currently the backbone of public transport used by the vast majority of the public transport commuters. We transport over 2 million people every day.''

 

PICTURE: WCGov

Done By: Mitchum George