The Nelson Mandela Bay traffic and licensing department will revive the motorcycle squad in June in an effort to ensure swift responses to accidents in the metro.
A total of 11 motorcycles are available, which were purchased in 2010 to add to the traffic department capabilities during the FIFA World Cup.
The squad will mainly operate from Sidwell and Uitenhage and is currently in the process of training officers who will be piloting the project.
According to the NMBM traffic and licensing executive director for safety and security, Advocate Keith Meyer, the function of the squad is to mainly operate during peak hours.
“The reason for the relaunch is to ensure speedy responses to accidents.
“It will aid motorists in speedy responses and make sure that our roads are safe for all motorists,” Meyer said.
The department is applying for new recruits to man the motorcycles.
The squad will also focus on taxi drivers violating the rules of the road and not adhering to road signs.
Meyer added, “The department is currently overwhelmed with complaints regarding taxis disobeying the rules of the road. We have renewed the motorcycle squad to address these issues, as well as additional measures that will have a huge impact.”
DA spokesperson for safety and security in the metro, Gustav Rautenbach, said that this decision to utilise the motorcycles should have been made years ago. He said that these motorcycles had been standing idle since 2010, which had been a waste of resources and money. “A total of almost R2 million has been spent on the bikes in 2010.,” Rautenbach said.
According to NMBM traffic and licensing director, Warren Prins, the reason the squad had not been running was due to a lack of funds to supply traffic officials with protective gear.
“The motorcycles were part of traffic deployment for years and we are currently bringing them back.
“We are in the process of supplying officials with protective gear, which will take approximately six to eight weeks.
“In the past, we did not have the funds to supply our officials with the gear.
“However, the motorcycles have also been used in special cases and major events in the metro. The squad will be working in shifts in order to assist the residents in the metro.”
Queues at testing centres receive attention
The traffic and licensing department is in the process of reducing the long queues at the metro licensing centres and have made special provisions to address the ongoing issue.
Meyer said, “We see daily in the newspapers how residents are complaining about long queues. We, as safety and security, can’t sit and do nothing about it.
“The primary reasons for the queues and delays at the centre have been dealt with by the Drivers Licence Card Authority (DLCT).”
The DLCT has spearheaded a new software version, which is believed to resolve the current problems.
“A pilot test project is currently ongoing in Tshwane and the software upgrade was rolled out to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in February. This has resulted in a significant reduction in the waiting time,” Meyer said.
“However, there is still a major hurdle with regard to the queues at the traffic and licensing centres.
“The opening of the new traffic and licensing centre in Motherwell in July this year, will have a major impact on the long queues,” he said.
The national Department of Transport has rolled out a national online booking system in Gauteng, which is currently underway in the Western Cape. The system will be operational in the Eastern Cape later this year.
Meyer added, “We are living in a digital transformation age where we work daily with ‘apps’ on our cellphones.
“This is the way forward – to do most things by means of an ‘app’ on your cellphone.”
