The National Public Transport Regulator (NPTR) has raised the fees for transport and operating licences.

This was revealed by Percy Kolotsi, Deputy Director of Provincial and Municipal Regulatory Entities at the Department of Transport, who provided updates on the NPTR during the National Tourism Stakeholder Forum Meeting at NH Johannesburg Sandton on September 5.

The fee for a new operating licence application (or renewal, amendment, transfer or conversion of an operating licence or permit) has been raised from R300 (€15) to R600 (€30).

Fees for new accreditation applications or renewal of accreditation for a tourist transport operator or amendment of accreditation conditions have been raised from R1 000 (€50) to R2 000 (€100).

The revised fees for all operating licence transactions, which came into effect on August 2, are as follows:

Kolotsi said this is the first fee increase in 10 years.

Currently, the NPTR Committee comprises five designated officials of the Department of Transport appointed by the former Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, on June 6 last year to serve for a period not exceeding 12 months.

On June 4, the minister extended the designation period until March 7 next year.

Members of the NPTR meet monthly for two or three days to adjudicate applications for tourist transport operating licences and accreditation of tour operators.

The National Land Transport Amendment Act, signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa on June 11, enables the Department of Transport to appoint external non-executive directors to serve as members of the NPTR.

On August 2, the department published the second amendment to the National Land Transport Regulations for implementation by all regulatory entities, including the NPTR.

Key amendments affecting tourist operators:

• Regulation 25 provides a grace period of 21 days when applying for renewals of operating licences
• Regulation 34A enables operators and prospective applicants to apply for accreditation and operating licences simultaneously.

Applicants may also request an extension of 30 days to submit the requested documents and load their operating licences in accordance with the regulations.

“The NPTR is committed to collaborative engagements to achieve growth and development of the tourism sector.

“Institutional building and capacitation of the NPTR and continuous engagements with the sector, promoting awareness of operating licence requirements and procedures, remain key priorities to improve efficiency and the overall performance of the NPTR to support the industry,” Kolotsi said.