The Department of Roads and Transport has announced it is making progress in establishing the Public Transport Arbitration Office, a key intervention in curbing minibus-taxi related violence and its facilitation to an integrated public transport system.
"This office which will be chaired by a retired judge will assist in providing an independent, credible and transparent platform through which disputes will be address, especially disputes around the public transport routes," said the MEC Jacob Mamabolo during Gauteng Provincial Legislature virtual sitting on Thursday, 09 December 2021.
The Office's establishment is a result of continuous engagements and consultations with the minibus taxi industry following the seminal Gauteng Taxi Industry Summit held July 2019. It is also in line with recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Taxi Violence chaired by retired Judge Jeremiah Shongwe.
"After the Gauteng Provincial Legislature has ratified the regulations that we have recommended, we expect Public Transport Arbitration Office to be operational early in 2022," added Mamabolo.
He also announced that the Department has placed a moratorium on new applications for new operating licences, while it is working with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to conduct an audit of minibus taxi operators in the province. This is critical, especially in the minibus taxi industry, where disputes related to operation of routes often results in violence and loss of life. 
"The CSIR is helping us do a digital database so that we know exactly who owns minibus taxis in our province. We are currently in the process of capturing biometric data of minibus taxi operators and drivers, but also we are mapping up all the routes on a digital platform" emphasised Mamabolo.
These efforts are part of the Department's Growing Gauteng Together Through Smart Mobility strategy which prioritises modernisation of this industry, an intervention to make public transport affordable, accessible, safe and reliable.
The strategy also identified modernisation and corporatisation of this industry as a necessity in building a smart taxi industry able to compete and thrive in an ever-changing public transport mix