The Times They Are a-Changin’

The month of May has seen much happen in the bus and coach industry as well as internally at SABOA. There have been considerable changes both at SABOA and within the bus industry, as SHARMINI NAIDOO reports.

SABOA has said “au revoir” to Bazil Govender after a dynamic three-year tenure as executive manager. SABOA is extremely grateful to Mr Govender for his passion, energy, determination, and dedication, all of which contributed to the transition and transformation of the industry and the association. Mr Govender has passed on the baton to yours truly. I’m no stranger to the transport industry, and I will hold the fort until a permanent executive manager is appointed.  

As the voice and watchdog of the industry, SABOA has been very active, representing members and providing comment on behalf of those members when it comes to the numerous bills and draft legislation out for comment.

The National Land Transport Amendment Bill and the Economic Regulation of Transport Bill will have severe implications for the bus industry. Operators are urged to attend the public hearings on these Amendment Bills that are being conducted around the country by the legislature.

Contract negotiations continue in Gauteng in an attempt to reach consensus on a suitable and viable contract model. These contracts present numerous complexities and the historic challenges unfortunately resulted in the disruption of services by some operators. Thankfully this was resolved, avoiding further inconvenience to commuters.

Gauteng Province has also invited stakeholders to consultative discussions on the New Number Plate Project.

The Minister of Transport is hosting an Integrated Transport Sector Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Symposium in May to introduce the Transport Charter Council to stakeholders and launch the alignment process of the ITSB-BBBEE Codes to the Codes of Good Practice. The previous alignment process was halted in 2017 after the Department of Transport exhausted the consultative processes with industry. This resulted from a lack of agreement with the sectors, so we welcome the engagement. The current Sector Code or Transport Charter is vastly different to the elements, weightings, and targets of the Codes of Good Practice and will have a significant impact on the industry.

Even the tourism industry received a boost this month. The need to stimulate sustainable, inclusive tourism growth and unlock unrealised potential in the country has prompted the publication of the Green Paper on the development and promotion of tourism in South Africa. Provincial consultations for stakeholders were recently held in Gauteng.

After its huge success last year, SABOA confirms that this year we will host a bigger, better, upscaled conference, exhibition, and dinner early in September. This will take place during Automechanika and the Futuroad Expo, from 5 to 7 September at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec. SABOA will facilitate special exhibition and networking opportunities for sponsors with captains of industry. Delegates can also look forward to two days of expert speakers, interaction with government on key issues, panel discussions, engaging with peers, a working platform to find meaningful solutions to the many challenges in the industry, and networking and cheer at our prestigious gala dinner.

In collaboration with Masterdrive, the search is on to recognise top fleet operators who live the road safety ethos and demonstrate this within their companies. To this end, the winner of the Fleet Safety Awards for the bus industry will be announced at this year’s gala dinner.

Our collaboration with CTU provides the perfect opportunity to acknowledge and recognise our heroes on the road. SABOA would like to encourage participation in the Hollard Highway Heroes Competition, which honours exceptional bus drivers who go above and beyond to not only deliver their passengers safely, on time, and responsibly, but also look out for other road users and safeguard their fleet owners. 

More information on our lobbying activities, newsflashes on our conference, and details of the Hollard Highway Heroes Competition can be found on our website: www.saboa.co.za.