taxi recapitalisation

[simple_simon]

is it just me or is the taxi recapitalisation programme horse manure. since when does a government pay for the replacement of privately owned assets. the taxi industry makes billions and barely pays taxes, yet joe public has to fund their new vehicles.

if there is one thing this government has failed the majority of its voters it is the shambles that public transport is in. why do we even need minibus taxi's why can't there be public transport to townships, etc. its seems one of the simplest porblems in this country to solve.

i consider myself lucky that i have never had to drive in a taxi and i only wish that a large portion of my fellow south africans didn't have to do it on a dailly basis

 

[JStrike]

I've driven in a Taxi once or twice. Not all that bad actually.
But your point is still good

 

[sludge]

I've also been in a taxi once or twice, and it was so bloody crammeped inside, those seats are very small, with no leg room, only one of my friends could actually fit his legs in front of him.. Dunno how the hell they load the things like they do...

Anyways, you make a very good point here simon. I've also thought about why the hell my tax money should be used to fund a small army of taxi operators while the proper solution would be trains and bussess, atleast here in Gauteng.

But methinks the gov is afraid of more of those "taxi-war" situations developing...

 

[stoke]

/me looks at Gautrain and looks at thread and looks at Gautrain and looks at thread and looks at Gautrain ...

It's got to start somewhere on a massive and unstoppable scale.

 

[JStrike]

I have been in a minibus taxi in Mozam. You haven't experience cramped until you have been in one of those. There were 26 people and one baby in the taxi

 

[simple_simon]

i don't buy into that whole taxi war mumbo jumbo.....hello, the government has an army at its disposal.

and plus....someoene has to drive the busses....those taxi drivers that have the capability and pass relevent tests can apply for driver positions. they will then have protection from labour law....they'll have gauranteed income every month, pension, medical aid, etc........its alot more than they have now.

what really needs to be done is enough effort has to be put into the "removing" of unsavoury individuals who will undoubtably try to derail this process

 

[derekc]

the problem is that Taxis provide the lower income bracket an economical form of transport. Many people take it and it's part of their lives. The government recognises that. The government also recognises that taxis are causing havoc on our roads but they can't just simply take them off the road. They had to do something to sort that issue out. If they take taxis off the road, then we get taxi violence. If they spend money on the recap plan, a lot of the transport problems would at least be alleviated.

Regardless, they are not concentrating enough on public transport such as busses and trains. It's sad really.

 

[simple_simon]

new taxi's.....same old drivers.

 

[repitah]

Driven a few of the new Quantums. Nice actually, and ABS (std feat) helps a lot to pull the tank to a halt, without need for special driver training. Pity the tyres are wafer thin -- A few inches wider would be great.

 

[Riq]

taxi drivers *mumble*must kill *mumble*

 

[simple_simon]

i wonder if the taxi recap progam is linked to any shareholders in the chicken lickin franchise.

because that must be the most profitable business in sa....a chicken licken next to a taxi rank....and now you get to drive to chicken licken in a shiny new taxi

 

[Syndyre]

Lol, wouldn't be a bad idea

 

[Myrrdin]

So instead of whining why dont you go to the local scrapyard, buy a scrapped minibus, do some fixing just to enable you to drive to the goverment building, swap it for a brand new one and there you go, family vacation vehicle for free.

 

[Darth Garth]

is it just me or is the taxi recapitalisation programme horse manure. since when does a government pay for the replacement of privately owned assets.

Did you know that private bus operators like Putco and others get a subsidy from the govt .. Putco got 300 MILLION RANDS at one stage from the S.A taxpayer yet you did not whinge about it and now suddenly this is an issue when the govt wants safer transport for black passengers ???.

These subsidies is due to social policies of the past that forced black people to live very far from their places of work and cheap subsidised transport was a neccessity to make this system work.

So I see no problem that black taxi operators should not benefit from this either since they fulfill an essential role in our economy.

Simple Simon indeed.

 

[telkomsuig]

I don't mind the subsidy. But their licenses should be suspended if they don't start acting like responsible citizens ie. paying taxes and adhering to the rules of the road.

 

[icyrus]

Did you know that private bus operators like Putco and others get a subsidy from the govt .. Putco got 300 MILLION RANDS at one stage from the S.A taxpayer yet you did not whinge about it and now suddenly this is an issue when the govt wants safer transport for black passengers ???.

These subsidies is due to social policies of the past that forced black people to live very far from their places of work and cheap subsidised transport was a neccessity to make this system work.

Who would have thought you would make this a race issue? What a shock.

So I see no problem that black taxi operators should not benefit from this either since they fulfill an essential role in our economy.

So why don't they pay tax?

Simple Simon indeed.

Coming from you that is incredibly rich.

 

[simple_simon]

Did you know that private bus operators like Putco and others get a subsidy from the govt .. Putco got 300 MILLION RANDS at one stage from the S.A taxpayer yet you did not whinge about it and now suddenly this is an issue when the govt wants safer transport for black passengers ???.

These subsidies is due to social policies of the past that forced black people to live very far from their places of work and cheap subsidised transport was a neccessity to make this system work.

So I see no problem that black taxi operators should not benefit from this either since they fulfill an essential role in our economy.

Simple Simon indeed.

talk about reading what you want to see. if you go back and read my original post i clearly state that this governement has failed black people in regard to public transport....all i question is why the governement is funding privately owned assets...and this isn't a subsidy...they are being completely purchased for the taxi owners. It would be better to have purchased more buses and run on a cost basis instead of funding assets for taxi owners to make a profit and never repay the investment to government.

did you wake up on the wrong side of hell this morning?

 

[simple_simon]

So instead of whining why dont you go to the local scrapyard, buy a scrapped minibus, do some fixing just to enable you to drive to the goverment building, swap it for a brand new one and there you go, family vacation vehicle for free.

you can't....you have to have a taxi operator license. in other words you have to have a registered route, etc.

 

[Darth Garth]

So why don't they pay tax?

Brett Kebble and a few others of his ilk did not pay tax either or at worst stole and defrauded this country ... you do not seem to be very concerned about them but rather focus on black taxi operators ... oh my gosh ... what could it be about them that ticks you off ???.

But they paid to finance their old taxi's (why do you think Toyota is still making the HiAce ???) and is taxed via bank transaction costs and the levies on the rather large amounts of fuel they have to use and on the food they and their families eat just like the rest of us wage earners.

So what was your point again ???.

 

[Darth Garth]

i question is why the governement is funding privately owned assets...and this isn't a subsidy...they are being completely purchased for the taxi owners.

In economics, a subsidy is generally a monetary grant given by a government to lower the price faced by producers or consumers of a good, generally because it is considered to be in the public interest.

Definition of a subsidy from Wikipedia ... read the bit about "in the public interest" a few times.

You surely know how skewed car ownership and access to finanancing of such things is in this country ... some people might get upset again if I spell it out in the simple racial terms that is the reality in South Africa.