CITY SALUTES 89 MINIBUS-TAXI OPERATORS WHO COMPLETED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TRAINING

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The City of Cape Town is pleased to announce that 89 minibus-taxi operators from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha have successfully completed their Business Development Training Course facilitated by the University of Cape Town (UCT).

The 89 minibus-taxi operators received their certificates this morning, 26 August 2015, during a graduation ceremony hosted at the Council Chamber at the Civic Centre.
 
‘We are extremely proud of the graduates and want to wish them well in their future endeavours. They are the pioneers of this transformation programme that has been paid for by the City of Cape Town. The first phase of the training represents an investment of approximately R39 million from Transport for Cape Town, the City’s transport authority, in assisting the minibus-taxi industry to be better equipped to manage their businesses. The minibus-taxi industry is a key-partner in ensuring the success of the MyCiTi bus service and future roll-out of more routes across the city. Going forward, we will be providing similar training opportunities to other partners in the taxi industry that will be affected by the imminent roll-out of additional MyCiTi routes,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member: Transport for Cape Town, Councillor Brett Herron.
 
The students were selected by the Codeta taxi association in Khayelitsha and the Route Six Taxi Association in Mitchells Plain. These two associations, together with the Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS), make up the vehicle operating company (VOC) that operates the N2 Express service since it was rolled out on 5 July 2014. This service was the first to be launched in the metro south-east and provides the residents from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha with safe, decent and affordable transport to the Civic Centre station in Cape Town.
 
‘We all know that in today’s world those who are equipped with the right skills and experience have the best chance at succeeding in professional life. In providing this training opportunity, the City is demonstrating our commitment to opening up the gateways to a better life to our partners in the taxi industry. One way to speed up economic growth in our city is to empower our residents to create companies that in the end will create more jobs. We are looking forward to seeing these graduates excel,’ said Councillor Herron.
 
As from 13 April to 29 July 2015 the students completed four modules at the Medical Research Council in Tygerberg and UCT:
 
  • A basic understanding of South African company law and the foundations of corporate governance.
  • Introduction to management, focusing on planning, organising, leading and people management.
  • Introduction to public transport planning and management.
  • Introduction to bus operating contract models and the management of scheduled transport operations.
     
‘We intend to provide similar training opportunities to our partners in the minibus-taxi industry as we roll out future phases of the MyCiTi service. Working together with our partners, we can make huge strides in providing a world-class public transport system to our residents and future generations,’ said Councillor Herron