Transport and Public Works
Question by:
Hon Ricardo Mackenzie
Answered by:
Hon Daylin Mitchell
Question Number:
7
Question Body:
With regard to the Blue Dot Taxi Service:
- How many (i) taxis and (ii) taxi operators are currently participating in the programme, (b) what is the (i) highest and (ii) average amount that taxi operators receive based on the current level of performance and (c) what initiatives are being used to encourage taxi operators to join the programme?
Answer Body:
(ii) 525 as of 22 November 2021.
- (i) R10,000 per vehicle if they achieve five stars.
(ii) The average payment amongst vehicles which earned an incentive was R5,800 in October 2021. Note: Participating vehicles are only eligible to earn an incentive payment if they earn performance stars. To do so, they must drive well and deliver a good quality service to their passengers. In addition, vehicles are required to travel a minimum of 40km per day on their operating licence routes with a registered driver tagged in.
- Participation in the pilot is limited based on the available budget. The pilot is deisgned to shift deeply entrenched behaviour over a period of time. The focus now is on improving the performance of participants through the pilot’s financial incentives, regular communication with participants, and ongoing training and capacity building. The pilot has budget secured for the remainder of this financial year only. However, the Department would like to continue the pilot by another year to provide more time to shift deeply entrenched behaviour and, thereafter, expand the programme acoss the Western Cape to include additional operators. The Department is actively working on trying to secure funding for the new financial year.
Date:
Friday, November 19, 2021
