Service delivery | Backlog of 6,000 public transport licences

JOHANNESBURG - There is a backlog of around 6,000 public transport operator licences in Gauteng.

Worryingly, the Transport Department has only received 500 applications.

The departments' spokesperson says it has given operators an opportunity to renew their expired licences.

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That window closes at the end of this month.

Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport spokesperson Lesiba Mpya said: “We will be doing beyond the 31st of July is to have boots on the ground.

"We have a public inspectorate unit that we will be deploying to remove all non-compliant motorbus taxis.

"We want to ensure the safety of our people. We will not have a situation where we have vehicles on the road that are not fit to ferry the citizen of Gauteng.”