Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya bus-rapid transit (BRT) system was not intended to “move the taxi industry out of business, but, in fact, to create an opportunity to move into the mainstream provision of public transport”, affirmed Joburg City MMC for transportation Rehana Moosajee on Tuesday.

This followed reports from the South African National Taxi Association (Santaco) on Monday that the BRT system in Gauteng should be put on hold until the minibus taxi industry's involvement was outlined.

Moosajee said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed with the taxi industries to work with the city to explore the BRT.

“Our taxi operator engagement is very extensive, including the steering committee, technical committee and 18 affected associations, with assistance being provided by the city in terms of consulting and logistical support,” she said.

Bus operator engagement also involved Putco and Metrobus. The MoUs were essentially agreements to further engage with industry associations, to understand the implications of the BRT for all, and not an agreement to participate in the BRT system.

“We as Joburg interact with the level of industry concurrent with our sphere of government, which is the regional structures of the taxi industry. We don’t have a mandate to speak to Santaco, we don’t have a mandate to speak to the national taxi alliance,” reiterated Moosajee.

News agency Sapa on Monday quoted Santaco general secretary Philip Taaibosch as saying that the manner in which municipalities were handling the BRT was brewing conflict and distrust.

“The taxi industry moves the largest percentage of the commuting public and yet the industry was not involved in the BRT system. By this attitude the government is simply disempowering the taxi industry," he was quoted as saying.

“Unless the difficulty is really that the industry is not confined to those people we are engaging with, and understandably, people that would not have the benefit of the information to the same level as those in the steering committee or the technical working committee do, are feeling left out,” said Moosajee.

She added that the city would not impose the system on the industry, “but we also have an obligation to improve public transport for our citizens”.

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