RoRo driver drowns in Durban
POLICE divers recovered the body of a 41 -year-old driver who drowned after he accidentally reversed a truck, which he was offloading from a Roll-onRoll-off (RoRo) ship into the Durban harbour. The accident happened at about 8 am on Tuesday, 1 2 February. RoRo drivers work 1 2 hrs shifts when the ship is in the harbour. Police divers from Durban Search and Rescue along with Metro Police SAR, Life Response, Port Fire and Rescue and KZN EMRS were called out to assist the DBN Harbour ORS Divers at M-Shed.-- DR.
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Compiled in KZN by Alwyn Viljoen, Lunga Sibaya and Moses Makhathini.
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News to inspire professional drivers of all size vehicles in southern Africa
March 201 9
Passengers fear the ride and driver A NEW national survey has shown that the majority of taxi users are fearful of the The 8 in 1 0 environment in which taxis people who operate, regard taxis as use taxis hope unroadworthy and taxi operators will drivers as reckless. invest in a new This is according to national Quantum is poll into public perceptions coming to of taxi use, safety, crime and Mzansi in related violence undertaken March, while by the SA Institute of Race the Siaya will Relations in conjunction still be made at with the Friedrich Naumann Toyota's plant Foundation for Freedom in Prospecton: (FNF) in December 2018. More overleaf The poll had 1,237 respondents over the age of 18. “It is clear from the report that a huge number of South respondents) and that users). From the survey it is which taxis operate, and of Africans rely on this mode minibus taxi users dominate clear that taxi users are unroadworthy and taxi of transport (82% of all the market (64% of all taxi- fearful of the environment in drivers as often reckless.
The average number of trips is one or more times a week for 52% of taxi users (and 65% of minibus users); 25% use taxis “two or three times a week” (32% for minibus users). * The average distance travelled on a taxi trip is in excess of 10 km for 48% of taxi users (57% for minibus users); 25% of taxi users said their average trip was 10 km or less (32% for minibus users). * The average cost of a taxi trip was between R10 and R50 for 56% of taxi users (73% for minibus users); 39% of taxi users paid R20 or less for a trip (32% of minibus users). -- DR.
This letter is to raise our concerns and disgust over the way the Department of Transport treats the taxi industry in the province and beyond. OPERATING LICENCES I would like to know how long it should take for an applicant to get a response from the Depart-
earned the right to a subsidy 1 0 times that of the Gautrain? Are your Jozi colleagues aware that the Gautrain is running at a loss? Who is transporting these people now?
Pan Africanist Congress sides with taxi drivers in open letter to the Minister of Transport ment of Transport about their operating licence. Due to the unexplained and ridiculous delays from the Department of Transport, many taxis are forced to operate without a permit.
FINGERPRINTS FOR WHAT?
Taxi operators are now
supposed to submit police copies of their thumbprints before they receive permits. Which other business is subjected to this practice?
Gautrain in subsidies. How much has been given to black businesses? The taxi industry is left in the merciless hands of SA SUBSIDIES FOR BLACK Taxi Finance, due to a BUSINESS TAXIS lack of permits by your The Department of department. Who is really Transport in Gauteng is buttering your bread? offering billions to the Has the taxi industry not
DR MLUNGISI DONGWE Secretary general, KZN PAC
Toyota makes a Quantum leap Japan's most popular big van made to deliver on for rough roads of overseas markets
TOYOTA has launched the first new Hi-Ace in 15 years in the Philippines, engineered for overseas markets. The van, which sells as the Quantum in South Africa, now has a short bonnet which Toyota said enabled a stiffer frame, stronger straight-line performance, greater stability and more pliant suspensions. It is not just in South Africa where Toyota’s van has proven very popular with transporters. Since the launch of the firstgeneration HiAce in 1967, it has become one ofToyota’s representative global vehicles. Over 6,24 million units sold in over 150 countries, with most models sold in Asia, where it competes with Chinese imitiations; the Middle East, Africa, where Toyota rules; and Oceania, Mexico and Latin America, where the Ford Transit is the main compeition.
Coming to Mzansi in April
Following the launch in the Philippines, the new model will be gradually introduced in other regions, with a focus on emerging markets, like South Africa, where Toyota dealers move over a thousand models every month. Toyota South Africa said the new Quantum will arrive at dealers next month, available with three-seat vans in long (LWB) and super-long wheelbase (SLWB) configurations
March 2019 page 2
and six-seat LWB crew cabs. The bus range will comprise of 11 (LWB) and 14-seater (SLWB) versions. Riaan Esterhuysen, product communication manager, said the new Quantum will not affect building of the two Sesfikile models built for the local taxi industry at Toyota’s plant in Prospecton. Ironically, Japan customers will continue getting the current model, due to what Toyota describes as “the different local market environment”. Under the hood Toyota engineered two engines to fit under that short hood, the 1GD, a 2,8-litre four-cylinder
turbocharged diesel engine or the 7GR 3,5-litre petrol engine. A tiptronic automatic transmission (pictured) or a six-speed manual gearbox is available, but South Africa will only get the IGD engine paired to the manual transmission. The suspension comprise of new MacPherson struts up front and longer leaf springs at the back. Up to 1 7 passengers Passengers can look forward to LED lighting, console boxes, flipup seats and netted seat-back pockets and up to 16 cup holders. Taxi operators will be happy that the “Commuter” versions can seat 17 people ― the most in its class―for private bus use.
A wider step makes it easier for gogods and children to access the van. Long distance taxi operators will be pleased that the towing capacity has been increased by 600 kg to a maximum two tons on key models. Safety While a bus is only as safe as the driver, passengers can take some reassurance that the new quantum achieved Toyota's equivalent of a full five stars in the Euro New Car Assessment Programme (NCap). For companies who want to transport loads, numerous anchor points make it easy to use the cargo capacity of 6,2 cubic metres in the (LWB) and 9,3 cubic metres in the SLWB. -- Driver Reporter.
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Sweden start tests on driverless buses
SWEDEN is set to become the first European country to test self-driving buses on public roads in 2020 . Scania and Nobina will next year test two self-driving buses along a five-kilometre route in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm. In a statemet, Scania said its Citywide LF electric buses will run about 20 kilometres from central Stockholm, to a nearby underground station. Karin Radstrom told local media: “The technology is now sufficiently mature to initiate trials in actual bus operations on public roads, making the project one of the first of its kind in Europe with buses this size.” Initially, the e-buses will travel around one kilometre without passengers with a driver on board to make sure everything runs fine. In the second phase, it is expected that around 300 passengers will use the service along the entire five-kilometre route every day and the selfdriving buses will make four stops. The Citywide LF electric bus is 1 2 metres long and carries up to 80 passengers. In November 201 8, the UK government announced plans for a self-driving bus service on the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland by 2021 . The UK plans to transport half a million passengers every year. -- DR.