NATIONAL NEWS - Almost 18 months ago, the Western Cape Government partnered with the provincial minibus taxi industry to roll out the ground-breaking Blue Dot Taxi project, an incentive programme to reward improved driving behaviour and service quality, while progressing the formalisation of the industry.

Blue Dot responded to the urgent need to improve public transport in the Western Cape by improving the quality of service provided by the minibus taxi industry in a context of the near-total collapse of the rail system, increasing congestion, and other challenges.

The Western Cape Cabinet endorsed the pilot project in September 2020 and it went live on 15 May 2021, with the participation of over 800 minibus taxis from across the Western Cape, with an investment of R215 million by the provincial government in the pilot project.

8 new regional companies were established, representing all 8 taxi regions of the province and these companies joined Umanyano Travel Services, the provincial company established by Santaco Western Cape during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, to participate in the pilot.

This represented a significant leap forward for the formalisation of the minibus taxi industry in the Western Cape. Since these companies were established, we have worked closely with them to build these businesses into sustainable enterprises and ensure compliance with corporate governance best practice. This has been a collaborative process and the results have been extremely positive.

The pilot has successfully achieved its objectives by reducing speeding by 50% and harsh events (cornering, acceleration and braking) by 40%, while passengers consistently rate the service positively via the user feedback platforms that were established for the pilot.

As part of the pilot programme:

We branded over 800 vehicles, fitted them with a tracker and checked for safety – allowing us to monitor over 3,3 million km of operations monthly across 150 routes and providing unprecedented insights into minibus taxi operations.

Over 500 operators and 1,100 drivers met the rigorous eligibility requirements to participate, which included training and tax compliance.

We established a first-of-its-kind user feedback system, where passengers and other road users could rate Blue Dot Taxis via cellphone. We received over 30,000 ratings during the course of the pilot.

A recent survey of 400 Blue Dot passengers confirmed that the pilot has improved the passenger experience and found that:

• 82% felt safer when travelling with a Blue Dot Taxi.
• 78% agreed that a Blue Dot Taxi is a better taxi.
• 88% agreed that the Western Cape needs more Blue Dot Taxis.

We have shown that the Blue Dot pilot project works, and works well. This programme has demonstrated how to rapidly improve public transport and how you can change the game.

However, we need support to fund the continuation and expansion of this impactful programme from national government.

Support needed to continue Blue Dot

The operational phase of the Blue Dot Taxi pilot project will come to an end on 30 November 2022 and, thereafter, the decommissioning process will commence.

I would like to state on record that I am in full support of this programme and I am doing everything in my power to ensure that it continues.

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

I will continue to engage with my counterparts at national, provincial and local government, as well as the private sector and other stakeholders to see how we can make this a truly proudly South African initiative.

The Western Cape Government invested R215 million to prove that the pilot works and it is now up to others, including national government, to support us and invest resources in the minibus taxi industry, which has been ignored and underfunded for far too long.

While I remain by my commitment to continue talks, keep the dialogue open and actively search for ways for the Blue Dot programme to continue, I must also say that I will not hesitate to use all mechanisms to my disposal as Provincial Minister.

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