National Land Transport Amendment Bill [B 7-2016]

The Portfolio Committee on Transport invites you to submit written comments on the National Land Transport Amendment Bill [B 7-2016].

The Bill seeks to amend the National Land Transport Act, 2009, to :
▪ insert certain definitions and amend others;
▪ provide for non-motorised and accessible transport;
▪ bring the Act up to date with developments since the implementation of the Act;
▪ provide for certain powers of provinces to conclude contracts for public transport services;
▪ expand the powers of the Minister to make regulations and introduce safety measures;
▪ prescribe criteria and requirements for municipalities to enter into contracts for public transport services;
▪ amend other transport-related legislation to bring it into line with the Act; and to clarify or simplify various provisions or solve problems that have arisen since the implementation of the Act.

Comments can be emailed to Valerie Carelse at [email protected] by no later than Thursday, 30 June 2016.

In addition to the written comments, please indicate your interest in making a verbal presentation to the Committee.

Enquiries can be directed to Valerie Carelse on tel (021) 403 3272 or cell 083 709 8445

Issued by Ms DP Magadzi, MP, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport.

Background
The National Land Transport Act, 2009 (Act No. 5 of 2009) (‘‘the principal Act’’) was enacted to further the process of transformation and restructuring of the national land transport system initiated by the National Land Transport Transition Act, 2000 (Act No. 22 of 2000) (‘‘the Transition Act’’) and provide for related matters. The principal Act was enacted in some haste in order to implement the Public Transport Strategy and Action Plan, 2007 and cater for the introduction of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems being introduced pursuant to that Strategy, as well as to provide certain arrangements for the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup. The parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport expressed the view when passing the principal Act that it should be revised to ensure that the relevant policy has been correctly captured and to cater for possible problems and issues that may arise with implementing the Act. The principal Act has been in operation since December 2009 (some of its provisions since August 2009) and has met with a large measure of success in achieving its objectives, which included the consolidation of transport functions at the local level. However a number of issues, mostly technical in nature, have necessitated amendment of the Act as envisaged by the abovementioned Parliamentary Committee.