The National Public Transport Regulator (NPTR) has raised the fees for both transport and operating licences.
This was revealed by Percy Kolotsi, Deputy Director of Provincial and Municipal Regulatory Entities at the Department of Transport, who provided updates on the NPTR at the National Tourism Stakeholder Forum Meeting which took place at NH Sandton on September 5.
The application for a new operating licence, or for renewal, amendment, transfer or conversion of an operating licence or permit has been raised from R300 to R600.
The application for accreditation, or renewal of accreditation of a tourist transport operator or amendment of conditions of accreditation has been raised from R1 000 to R2 000.
The revised fees for all operating licence transactions, which came into effect on August 2, are as follows:
Kolotsi said it was the first time in ten years that the fees had been increased.
Currently, the NPTR Committee comprises five designated officials of the Department of Transport. They were designated by the then Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, on June 6, 2023, to serve as members of the NPTR for a period not exceeding 12 months.
On June 4, the Minister extended the designation period of the Department’s officials to serve as members of the NPTR until March 7, 2025.
The members of the NPTR hold monthly meetings for two or three days to adjudicate applications for tourist transport operating licences and accreditation of tour operators.
The National Land Transport Amendment Bill was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa on June 11 and the Amendment Act will come into operation on a date to be determined by the President by proclamation in the Government Gazette.
Once proclaimed into law, the Act will, amongst others, enable the Department to appoint persons as non-executive Directors from outside the Department to serve as members of the NPTR.
On August 2, the Department published the Second Amendment to the National Land Transport Regulations for implementation by all Regulatory Entities, including the NPTR.
The key amendments affecting the tourist operators are:
- Amendment of Regulation 25 to give a grace period of 21 days to operators when applying for renewals of operating licences;
- Insertion of Regulation 34A for operators and prospective applicants to apply for accreditation and operating licences simultaneously.
Applicants may also request an extension of 30 days to submit the requested documents and uplift their operating licences in accordance with the National Land Transport Amendment regulations.
“The NPTR is committed towards collaborative engagements with the industry and sector departments to working together to achieve growth and development of the tourism sector.
“The institutional building and capacitation of the NPTR and continuous engagements with the industry to promote awareness of operating licence requirements and procedures remain key priorities to improving efficiency and the overall performance of the NPTR to support the industry,” Kolotsi concluded.
