Minibus taxis allowed to run at full capacity again during lockdown
|Published
File picture: Courtney Africa/African News Agency (ANA) File picture: Courtney Africa/African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town – All minibus and midibus taxis are now permitted to run at full loading capacity during the Covid-19 lockdown – provided all passengers are wearing masks – according to a regulatory amendment published on Tuesday by the Department of Transport.
However, those masks must be either surgical masks or N95 respirators, which have both long been sold out in the country.
With no masks, the maximum licensed passenger seating capacity for minibus and midibus taxis is 70%. This is up from a maximum usage of 50% or less that was put in place on March 26.
The new regulations state:
(a) A minibus licensed to carry 10 passengers is limited to carry a maximum of 7
passengers;
(b) A minibus licensed to carry 15 passengers is limited to carry the maximum of
10 passengers;
(c) A midibus permitted to carry a maximum of 22 passengers, is limited to carry
a maximum of 15 passengers.
Taxis are still required to sanitise their vehicles before picking up any passengers, using a sanitiser with an alcohol content of no less than 60%.
All public transport operators must also put measures in place to adhere to social
distancing to curb the spread of the virus.
Light motor vehicles were previously limited to only one passenger plus the driver. This has been updated to allow for "50% of their permissible passenger carrying capacity", effectively allowing for two passengers and a driver per vehicle.
Buses with a capacity of more than 22 passengers remain banned, unless used to ferry essential personnel to and from work. The ban also applies to long-distance transport that crosses provincial boundaries.