MEC Jacob Mamabolo of Gauteng transport alongside the city of Tshwane administrator, Mr Mpho Nawa, visited Mabopane taxi rank today to sanitize the rank and to check whether taxi drivers are complying with the 70% rule that was announced by Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula.
Taxi ranks are identified as hotspots that have the potential to transports the COVID-19 due to the many people from different places gathering at the taxi ranks on a daily basis.
This potentially puts taxi commuters at high risk of getting infected with COVID-19. The government has partnered with the private sector to try and curb the virus from getting to townships.
Mr Dirk Slabbert, Director at SpsPlant, a company that deals with maintenance services among other things, along with his team, brought a walk-in sanitizer booth in which individuals walk inside to get their whole body sanitized before getting into a taxi.
“We have brought the booth for a demonstration today, we hope to work hand in hand with the government and taxi industry to see how we can keep the booth here daily. Hopefully, soon it will be a standard initiative for all the taxi ranks in Gauteng,” said Mr Slabbert.
City of Tshwane administrator, Mr Mpho Nawa, said this is a way of raising awareness about the seriousness of the COVID-19, “we also call upon people to stay at home and observe the regulations made in relation to the virus,” she said.
MEC Mamabolo said these pilots are conducted to test and check if the smart technologies that exist in the private sector can be brought to public space such as taxi ranks.
“We need to see if we can leverage all the capabilities such as smart technologies and bring them into spaces so that we can strengthen our prevention program.”
“As we have seen the City of Tshwane has brought in the use of drones to sanitize public spaces and we also have sanitizing walking booths,” said MEC Mamabolo.
There has been compliance as MEC Mamabolo puts it in terms of the 70% rule that was announced.
“This is not a time to be making money, but a time to be saving lives. The taxi industry has been complying with the 70% commuters in a taxi and for that we must credit the taxi drivers,” said MEC Mamabolo.