3500 taxi drivers, 53 testing sessions, nine provinces, these are the numbers that highlight the brandhouse Number One Taxi Driver initiative that is being implemented nationally in a bid to make our roads safer in a nation that is commuter-driven. Theory and practical testing started in March and will run through to May training the 3500 selected taxi drivers ahead of the National finals in June.
The theory and practical testing which is delivered through the services of the Toyota Advanced Driving (TAD) Academy, is based on K53 Test, driving and obstacle test, customer care and vehicle maintenance. Following this, 27 finalists (three winners per province) will be picked to go head to head for the ultimate prizes in June.
The brandhouse Number One Taxi Driver Campaign is carried out with the endorsement of the Department of Transport, provincial transport authorities and taxi associations.
According to the Department of transport, taxis are the most popular mode of transport for the majority of South Africans. There are about 290 000 minibus-taxis, and the taxi industry is estimated to contribute more than R30 billion to the GDP of the country.
“We have now reached the very critical stage of this campaign. The theory and practical testing is not just about getting closer to finding the best taxi driver, but all those exposed to this stage of the programme will contribute to making our roads safer, and that is our primarily objective. We want good taxi drivers on our roads and it all starts here,” says Zanele Njapha, sustainability manager at brandhouse.
Buoyed by the success of last year’s campaign, the different sponsors involved in this initiative have increased their contributions considerably by offering more prizes for the winners. In fact, not only brandhouse, Toyota and Caltex have joined forces to give away four Toyota Ses’fikiles minibuses this year, but Caltex has also a sponsored a fuel package valued at R 50 000 for each of the winners from the nine provinces plus fuel for their taxi owners. Six taxi owners will win fuel worth R20 000 each and three will win fuel worth R15 000 each, totalling a generous R165 000 worth of fuel.
Also view: brandhouse Number One Taxi Driver Campaign 2012
About brandhouse Number One Taxi Driver campaign:
The brandhouse Number One Taxi Driver campaign became brandhouse’s flagship CSR initiative and is in line with the brandhouse CSR policy of community enrichment and no drinking and driving. It seeks to educate taxi drivers and other road users on road safety and highlights, in particular, the following messages:
- Not driving unroadworthy vehicles,
- Not drinking and driving,
- Obeying traffic rules,
- Not speeding, and
- Not driving when fatigued.
The brandhouse Number One Taxi Driver campaign aims to deliver responsible role models to the taxi industry. These role models should embody:
- The true values of responsible driving.
- Great customer care driven from both the individual driver as well as the taxi owners.
