Industry Update - MPTR and Tourism Transport Operating Licences
As you know, SATSA has been at the forefront of trying to broker a sustainable solution to the ongoing challenges at the NPTR which continue to cripple the tourist transport sector. This is an interim update on the current actions and processes underway.
On 26 July 2022, facilitated by former Minister Derek Hanekom, SATSA met with the honourable Minister of Transport, Mr Fikile Mbalula. During this meeting, the current crisis and ongoing challenges were clearly laid out, and the Minister took the time to listen to the industry’s concerns and proposed solutions.
The Minister committed to the following:
- That the Department would immediately attend to clearing the backlog of applications (the Department set themselves a goal of 30 September 2022 for this)
- To consider SATSA’s proposal for a temporary amnesty or moratorium
- To simplify the application process and make it easier for operators to comply
- To establish an NPTR call centre as per Regulation 39
- An ongoing consultation process with stakeholders
The Minister also appointed a technical task team headed by the Deputy Director-General of Public Transport, Mr Mathabatha Mokonyama and SATSA’s Transport Committee Chair, Mr Onne Vegter, to develop an implementation plan to be presented to the Minister. The task team is meeting weekly until all the issues are resolved.
Meanwhile, the NPTR committee has been meeting three days per week to process existing applications and clear the backlog.
As they attend to the backlog, we are trying to get clarity on how many operators have in fact received their operating licences. To assist us in keeping track, we are asking operators to kindly complete another short survey. It is critical to have accurate data, so we ask all wheel operators with pending applications at the NPTR to please complete this quick survey by clicking here.
Among the issues agreed to so far are the following:
- All operating licences are to be issued for 7 years unless a compelling reason exists for a shorter validity. The expiry of accreditation is not a compelling reason.
- In clearing the backlog and dealing with outdated applications, certain expired documents will have to be resubmitted, such as the licence and roadworthy documents (the two disks) and proof of passenger liability insurance. An updated checklist of required documents will be agreed upon during our next meeting.
- NPTR receipts will no longer have the sentence “This receipt does not authorise the conveyance of passengers”. We have also requested that receipts are dated by the date of application/date of payment, and not the date the receipt is issued.
- SATSA has proposed a temporary amnesty or moratorium until the backlog is cleared, and the Department of Transport has requested that SATSA seek a legal opinion, for consideration by the Minister. This process is ongoing.
Keeping you and your clients on the road, is our most important priority, and we are aware that operators continue to experience major challenges on the road with fines and impoundment by law enforcement. This is despite Regulation 25 (2) making it legal for operators to continue operating on an expired operating licence until the NPTR has issued the new OL (provided the operator applied on time for renewal). Consequently, in the absence of a moratorium, we are requesting the Minister to send a letter to the Road Traffic Management Corporation and all provincial Transport MEC’s to clarify this position. We will keep you updated on these developments.
It is therefore critical that, in addition to completing the survey, all wheels operators please send us a short incident report of any fines or impoundment to tintswalo@satsa.co.za.
We are deeply aware that the levels of frustration and desperation due to the inability to obtain operating licences are at an all-time high. The process of solving this takes time, but we are encouraged by the progress made so far and remain optimistic that meaningful change and lasting improvement are not far off. We thank you for your ongoing patience.
