Durban - The South African National Small Bus Operators’ (SANSBOC) Elective Conference wrapped up in Durban last week.
The two-day conference at the Elangeni Hotel was opened by Transport Minister Blade Nzimande.
The transport department said the conference was attended by 120 delegates from the nine provinces. Voting delegates elected new executive members to lead the institution for a five-year term during the conference.
The national body comprised of small bus operators championing economic opportunity interests for its members in the country. It is made up of small bus operators from previously disadvantaged communities in the nine provinces of South Africa.
The organisation came into being on December 6, 2012 with the election of office bearers for a period of five years.
The formation of the organisation was an outcome of the negotiations between the small bus operators and the Department of Transport in 2009.
During that meeting small bus operator representatives made a call to the department to be recognised the same way the minibus taxi industry has been recognised, especially during the roll out of Integrated Public Transport Networks (IPTNs) spearheaded by provinces and cities.
Currently, they operate informally with little regulation and control of the market. They are at the periphery of the South African economic mainstream with poorly paid, unskilled and semi-skilled people.
The majority operate learner transport services, offer private hire and unsubsidised and unscheduled long distance operations, which are more in the form of inter-provincial services and are in direct competition with the taxi industry.