By The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport has announced a strategic six-month temporary suspension of three key requirements under the Gauteng Public Transport Regulatory Information System (GPTRIS).
The move is designed to create space for meaningful stakeholder consultation and awareness campaigns following heavy pushback from public transport operators across the province.
The administrative relief follows widespread representations and appeals from various sectors of the public transport industry, including scholar transport operators, metered taxis, and e-hailing services.
Prominent industry bodies, such as the Gauteng National Taxi Alliance (GNTA) and the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO), actively lobbied the Department, requesting a dedicated grace period and structured consultations before rolling out these automated licensing prerequisites.
After carefully weighing operational implications, legal considerations, and industry feedback, the Department acceded to the requests, granting operators a crucial window for compliance alignment.
What Requirements are Suspended?
The temporary suspension applies strictly to three specific elements tied to the new automated licensing framework:
- Police Clearance Certificates: The mandate requiring applicants for public transport operating licences to submit official police clearance certificates.
- Labour Law Compliance Undertakings: The requirement for applicants to provide a formal undertaking confirming their full commitment to the provisions of the Labour Relations Act.
- Professional Driving Permits (PrDPs): The obligation compelling business owners and operating licence holders—who do not personally drive public transport vehicles—to hold a valid Professional Driving Permit.
Transport Operating Licence Administration Boards (TOLABs) across the province have been officially instructed to accept, process, and consider operating licence applications without enforcing compliance with these three items.
Paving the Way for National Standardization
Beyond addressing immediate operational bottlenecks, the province intends to use this six-month moratorium to collaborate with national and other provincial departments. The overarching goal is to achieve standardized, uniform application requirements for public transport operating licences across all transport modes.
The Department has stressed that the relief is narrow in scope and does not constitute a blanket waiver of all regulatory or statutory obligations. All other administrative and legal requirements governing the issuing, renewal, and amendment of public transport operating licences remain fully in effect.
The temporary suspension is set to lapse on 30 April 2027, after which authorities will strictly monitor and enforce total compliance across the public transport landscape. Officials have been directed to align internal administrative workflows immediately to ensure smooth processing throughout the grace period and strict enforcement thereafter.
