GEORGE NEWS - With petrol prices hitting an all-time high, it's a smart move to look for ways to save on transport bills.
Lift clubs or carpooling has been a popular way to shave a tank or two off the monthly expense list, but there are some important issues that you have to address before you invite people to travel with you.
Whether you offer to transport kids or colleagues, or you make use of a service, you could be exposing yourself to some serious financial and legal risks.
When somebody operates illegal learner transport services they'll be fined and their vehicles could be impounded.
Learner transport
Where school learners are transported to and from school on a daily basis with a minibus for reward, the driver must have an operating licence and professional driver permit (PrDP).
When they are transported with a school bus for sightseeing, excursions, sporting events and such, an operating licence is not required but the driver needs a PrDP.
In such cases, a letter from the school confirming that all passengers are enrolled learners at the school should be kept with the driver.
According to Ntobeko Mangqweng-qwe, senior communications officer at George Municipality, learner transport in the Western Cape is a mixture of formal contracted services and informal arrangements between parents to transport their children to and from school.
"The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) subsidises and contracts operators to provide these services for learners who need to travel more than five kilometres to their school. In terms of the National Land Transportation Act, services that are publicly available to scholars require operating licences (OLs) that authorise such conveyance. However, there are still a number of operators that do not hold the required OLs," he said.
The contract concluded by the WCED is regarded as a commercial service contract and the operating licence must therefore be issued for each vehicle mentioned in the contract, in accordance with section 56 of the NLTA.
Lift clubs
While lift clubbing has benefits for all parties, if you don't have the correct car insurance and cover permits in place, you could be opening yourself up to hefty lawsuits or unpaid insurance claims.
Many learners and parents rely on lift clubs for their children to get to school and according to Mangqwengqwe, this is legal. However, if you operate for profit, you will need to acquire an OL and PrDP.
Before you can take your kid's friends to school, you must obtain written permission from the child's parent, stating that they allow the child to be transported in your vehicle.
A PrDP is also required if your vehicle's gross vehicle mass (GVM) exceeds 3 500kg and/or is able to carry 12 or more passengers for reward. "The law is silent on a private person giving passengers a lift, but if a taxi is used, an operating permit is a requirement," Mangqwengqwe said.
Unlicensed drivers or vehicles are not allowed to transport people. If anything goes wrong, the driver will have to take full responsibility for any injuries, death or claims incurred.
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