Stricter regulations for scholar transport safety proposed: tracking devices and dashcams

TRANSPORT Minister Barbara Creecy is advocating for stricter regulations for scholar transport, including advanced driving certification, vehicle marking, and tracking devices. While safety is the priority, some transport operators express concerns about the financial implications of these proposed measures.

During a recent scholar transport operation in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, Creecy advocated for strengthening legislation to guarantee that scholar transport drivers were certified in advanced and defensive driving.

She said that the departments of education and transport should keep a separate database of scholar transport vehicles. 

“Driver behaviour plays a significant role in road crashes. In terms of the National Land Transport Regulations, every private vehicle must have a contract between the operator and the school. They must carry a certified copy of the contract, which recognises that the transporter is transporting pupils to a particular school. 

“That contract must be kept in the vehicle. The second requirement of the existing law is that the driver must have a special identity document that identifies him or her as a scholar transport service provider and that document must have the name of the driver, the identity number of the driver, the name of the operator and a code indicating the type of vehicle that is being used,” she said.

Creecy added that the Department of Transport was in discussions with the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) regarding the introduction of tracking devices in vehicles and in due course, the introduction of dashcams. 

"Clearly, this is an issue that can be implemented over time, since it has economic implications for the operators themselves, but it is something that we would like to work toward as we govern driver behaviour in the trucking business. We should be able to control driver behaviour not only in the taxi sector as a whole, but also in the scholar transportation industry,” she said.

Scholar transport operators had  mixed reactions to Creecy’s proposals.

While some said they would welcome the proposals due to it being for safety reasons, others believe that the proposals were “too much to ask for” as their profits were low.

One operator from Chatsworth said he had been transporting six children to two different schools from the time he retired in 2021.

“I am 66 years old. I retired in 2019, and had time on my hands. I had a vehicle and I would give friends and family a lift to run their errands or to shop. 

“Parents of friends and family then asked me to transport their children to and from school because they trusted me, and they know that I am a safe driver. When I started transporting the children, I did not know that I needed a Professional Drivers Permit (PDP).

“I found out about the PDP requirement from a parent who was transporting his own children,” the man added.

He said he was not going to apply for a PDP as he believed that he did not need one.

“I will not be modifying my vehicle or adding signage. I am not a public transporter. The parents pay me for my petrol and give me a little more money for myself. I sacrifice my time to make sure their children travel safely to school. I have had no issues or accidents, and I make sure the children use the seatbelts,” he said.

Another scholar transport operator from Phoenix said he bought a Toyota Quantum to start his own business transporting children to school in 2015, after he lost his job.

He said he would not be able to afford signage, a dash cam, or a tracking device for his vehicle.

“I transport about 25 children, all at different times, to and from school. I always make sure that the children have their safety belts on, and that there are only 13 children in the van at a time, so each one is strapped in and has a seat.

“I have a PDP but it is expired. I need to reapply. We do not make a lot of money transporting pupils to school, and I would not be able to brand my vehicle should the Department of Transport decide to implement changes.

“I would also not be able to afford to install a dash cam or tracking device. The money I make is only enough to feed my wife and I, who are both retired,” he said.

To report reckless driving of scholar transport operators, call the National Traffic Call Centre on  0861 400 800.

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