Public Transport Vehicles Without Operating Licenses will be Impounded

The Minister of Transport Robin Carlisle today met with one of the SA Roadlink's senior managers. Mr. Johan Botha explained the reasons for the bus company's decision to dispatch the unlicensed bus that was pulled over by provincial officers including measures the company has put in place to prevent similar cases in future.

The Minister was less than impressed: "Roadlink does not have a good record on our roads, at least two of its buses fell foul of the law during the bus blitz in Beaufort West and the latest incident adds to the growing series of offences by the operator. Enough is enough"

The Minister will immediately consult with Community Safety Minister, Adv. Lennit Max, to institute a clampdown on all offending public transport operators by:

• Training our law enforcement agencies on the legal and technical rules governing operating licences to make them more efficient when dealing with these technical matters at the roadside.
• Impounding all public transport vehicles traveling in the province without operating licenses until the criminal prosecution process has been concluded.
• In serious cases involving repeat offenders, we will liaise with the National Director of Public Prosecutions with a view to confiscate buses that are found traveling in the province without an operating license.

The Minister will continue to pursue every available legal option to ensure that all public transport operators that ignore traffic and transportation laws are punished appropriately.