taxi recapitalisation

[simple_simon]

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 pay to finance their taxi's 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 ???.

actually a lot of peope are concerned about the bret kebble and his ilk situation....how was it even possible that this to$$pot got away without paying tax for so long. thats not what this discussion is about.

paying tax on the revenue you earn is the problem....how many taxi operators declare fully what revenue they earned for the year? that is the question.

i use a rather large ammount of money on my monthly fuel, but the governement isn't giving me a new car now is it.

 

[simple_simon]

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.

i agree, a subsidy is in the public interest. subsidise proper bus services in south africa. not private individuals using this as a means to make more money.

when you drive in your car and see a taxi, the person driving it is most likely not the owner. the owner is the fat cat he gives his money too at the end of the day, who now makes more profit because he doesn't have to buy a new taxi. not that he cares....he doesn't drive in the current death traps

 

[Darth Garth]

i use a rather large ammount of money on my monthly fuel, but the governement isn't giving me a new car now is it.

Are you delivering an essential transport service to a needy community ???.

 

[simple_simon]

Are you delivering an essential transport service to a needy community ???.

no, but thats not my job. the fact that there is this current taxi empire is due to there being no decent public transport. hey if there is decent public transport available and people still decide to use taxi's thats no problem. but currenlty there isn't and the people in the most need in our country are forced to use taxi's.

just like we're forced to get adsl from telkom. how do you feel about telkom?

 

[icyrus]

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 ???.

Don't be stupid. Where did I say I don't care about Kebble and his ilk not paying tax? This thread is about the taxi operators not Kebble.

You just want to try your hardest to make this a racial issue. The massive chip on your shoulder is you problem, dont make it ours because you cant seem to deal with it.

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 ???.

All those thing you mention apply equally well to everyone else that is working in SA. The rest of us still have to pay income tax.

And please don't start with that bullsh*t about "Are you delivering an essential transport service to a needy community". Our tax pays for those needy communities.

 

[Darth Garth]

no, but thats not my job.

Then why are you complaining when the govt is doing it's job ???.

So do you want people to be killed or even injured in unsafe taxi's because their owners don't have the resources to replace them which has a far more detrimental effect on our society and the few hundred million rands it is going to cost them to replace the make sure the industry is finally placed on a sound footing from the chaos it is now ???

A drop in the ocean.

 

[Darth Garth]

And please don't start with that bullsh*t about "Are you delivering an essential transport service to a needy community".

And you obviously have little grasp of the daily struggle some people face in this country.

I hope for your sake you don't become part of the needy one day.

 

[simple_simon]

Then why are you complaining when the govt is doing it's job ???.

So do you want people to be killed or even injured in unsafe taxi's because their owners don't have the resources to replace them which has a far more detrimental effect on our society and the few hundred million rands it is going to cost them to replace the make sure the industry is finally placed on a sound footing from the chaos it is now ???

A drop in the ocean.

the governements job is to provide adequate public transport. taxi's are not public transport.

 

[simple_simon]

this is what is great about forums.....people can clearly see who won the debate.....and that was me...yeah baby.

i should go into politics

 

[telkomsuig]

Just as a final comment on the issue. Taxi operators did not get into the taxi business in the spirit of "ubuntu" like tibby seems to think. They are there for one reason only profit (at the expense of safety and tax obligations). the industry needs to be heavily regulated as they have proven that they can't do it themselves.

 

[xtermin8or]

@telkomsuig

The taxi industry is not regulated, and currently is an informal industry, an industry that up until now has only cared about profit, not tax, not safety

Tibby is right, the taxi industry was born out of Apartheid, when the oppressive white regieme cast blacks out and far away from work, they had to come up with solutions to get to work - taxis was only one solution - most people still use busses and trains to get to and from work

The Government stepped in a few years ago to try and regulate the industry, and the taxi recap programme was born, after struggling in the beginning, taxi operators have come on board and promised to change the industry for the better

The money given to taxi owners is a scrapping allowance - Govt is not giving taxi owners new vehicles - these they have to buy themselves - the money is merely an incentive so that the roads are not filled with dangerous unroadworthy taxis

taxi wars are not mumbo jumbo - they are real - and mainly the fighting is over routes - this problem will be solved when there is a regulator who legally regulates routes

remember the first of the taxis will be scrapped at the end of this month in the Free state

as for simple simon - how can you claim to have won a debate you clearly do not even understand

 

[Darth Garth]

this is what is great about forums.....people can clearly see who won the debate.....and that was me...yeah baby.

i should go into politics

Don't delude yourself simple .... simon ... this forum and the people has about as much impact and direction on the national debate in this country of ours as the ill-fated Soccer Party.

 

[Darth Garth]

Taxi operators did not get into the taxi business in the spirit of "ubuntu" like tibby seems to think.

Now where did I say or imply that ???.

They were first black entrepeneurs ... saw a need and fullfilled it ... well kudos to them for making living from it and also seeing to the needs of their community.

 

[Darth Garth]

The money given to taxi owners is a scrapping allowance - Govt is not giving taxi owners new vehicles - these they have to buy themselves - the money is merely an incentive so that the roads are not filled with dangerous unroadworthy taxis

Thanks for pointing this out to Simon.

 

[dlk001]

I think we need to expand “un-roadworthy” Taxi further because a new looking vehicle driving on worn tires can be more “un-roadworthy” than a properly maintained 10 year old one.

To me, the reasons to Taxis being un-roadworthy, although not limited but can be attributed to;

1. tires are not roadworthy.
2. essential mechanical components (e.g. Brakes) are not maintained.
3. drivers are not trained.
4. they are overloaded

Regulating the industry can improve the above problems. Replacing the fleet will postpone the risk consequences of points 1, 2 but it does not eliminate nor decrease the magnitude of the risk consequences due to 1 and 2.

Government needs to enact more stringent protocol on maintenance and training in the Taxi industry. Regulation must put owners responsible too

As an example of point 1 above, tire blowouts in Taxis mostly result from;

- improper tire pressure (due to overloading on Taxis)
- worn-out tires
- tire malfunctions from mostly the rethreads at the street corner e-kasi (township)
- improper fix of tire punchers (most people e-kasi do not fix punchers properly)

Speeding generates heat in the tires, increases the pressure inside and combined with above defects, will likely result in a blow out. Buses, Taxis, SUV’s are more difficult to control after tire blow out which causes the risk of more serious accidents and tire blow out injury. Overloaded Buses, Taxis are even more difficult to control.

I would feel more unsafe in a new Fleet Taxi riding on un-roadworthy tires.

 

[jontyB]

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.

So let me get this straight. The government looked at the taxis that kill more people than any other transport system in the world, decided that it was due to the bad shape of the taxis rather than a lack of affordable, effective public transport, decided to build a 20+ Billion Rand train that will service no one in particular and take a minimum of 3 years to build (though that is very unlikely)), and all this while giving taxi owners 50k for their crappy taxis that will be destroyed, and enforcing the taxi owners to get bigger taxis. Ok. We're ****ed aren't we?

 

[kilo39]

Ok. We're ****ed aren't we?

Ah got to laugh hysterically and maniacally - but a laugh nevertheless.