Wheels operators in South Africa continue to face severe harassment and steep penalties at the hands of traffic officials due to ongoing failures by the National Public Transport Regulator NPTR to efficiently process tourist transport operator licences.
The tourism sectors frustrations at the NPTR, which processes applications and renewals for tourist transport services, go back almost a decade . Despite intensive lobbying from industry associations such as the TBCSA and SATSA, and numerous commitments from the Department of Transport, operators continue to be penalised while waiting months for their licences to be processed.
Unfortunately, at the moment, tour operators are still being harassed and penalised even when theyve done everything possible to comply. It is unacceptable that operators are fined or penalised by law enforcement for the failures of the state, said SATSA Transport Committee Chair Onne Vegter .