Tourism Update speaks to wheels operators about the issues bedevilling transfer services.

Corrupt officials, poor roads and capacity under pressure are some of the bugbears that add challenges to the working life of operators in the wheels sector.

A major concern is harassment by traffic officials, be they uninformed about transport legislation or are seeking a bribe. Operators says incidents occur regularly, and when vehicles are pulled over with travellers on board, to avoid the embarrassment or a protracted argument with the traffic official, drivers and guides are often at their mercy.

Fanie van Zyl, MD of SA Coach Charters & Bus Rentals, says: “A few weeks ago our coach was pulled over and apparently there was a warrant of arrest for a driver – not even employed by us. This had nothing to do with the safety and roadworthiness of the vehicle – but the licence plate number appeared on the so-called warrant. We had to pay the ‘royalty’ as the group were on their way to Zimbabwe.”

For Tim Bouwers of Bobo Campers, a motorhome rental company, ignorance is the issue.  “Our vehicles when purchased are code 10 chassis cabs. When converted, the chassis cab receives a description change to a motorhome. This then becomes a code 8 licensed vehicle where the tare weight (dry or empty weight), not the gross vehicle mass (GVM) must be less than 3 500kg. As our motorhomes have a lower tare than this, the GVM becomes irrelevant.

“Most traffic cops do not know this – they simply see the GVM being more than 3 500kg and therefore a code 10 licence is required. Wrong. We supply a letter stating the description change and the resultant tare implication for reference. Sometimes they still do not understand and issue a fine, which is later reversed.”

Bouwers has a greater gripe with border officials who are not transparent about their actions, such as at Zimbabwe borders, where travellers are often confronted with all kinds of tariffs.  “Zimbabwe traffic police will always find something very trivial to fine for… even when a local car drives past with three wheels and no lights!”

Other operators take extreme care to avoid unpleasant incidents. Says Dimitri Kokinos, MD of Spurwing Tourism Services: “We have not had very many issues, all our vehicles are permitted correctly and we have taken precautions to ensure that we don’t encounter problems with traffic officers – all our vehicles are maintained and checked before they leave our office daily to avoid putting the clients at risk or giving the traffic officers a reason to cause difficulties for our driver/guides.”

CEO of Ashtons Tours, Safaris and Shuttles, Andrew Iles, says his vehicles have seldom been stopped in the past seven years, as traffic authorities have grown familiar with his fleet. “It seems most traffic officials on the routes we travel know our branded vehicles by now and also know that we keep our statutory registrations up to date. On a handful of occasions, we did find that officials focused only on the vehicle’s and driver’s licences and did not ask for vehicle permits or operating licences – that might have been an indication of those officials not really having knowledge of the relevant transport regulations.”

In the few instances Ashtons has experienced corrupt officials, Iles says in each case the incident took place close to Johannesburg.

Constrained capacity in high season is another issue wheels operators must tackle. Says Iles: “The tourism transfer sector experiences very similar trends to the hotel and lodge sectors. During peak season the sector is stretched and demand often exceeds supply. That has been Ashtons’ experience, specifically regarding transfers between Johannesburg and the Greater Kruger area, and it includes the other reputable transfer companies that we pass overflow business to.”

Co-operation between transfer companies is a way around this. Says Kokinos: “We are probably slightly short on operators at times, but I think that this can be overcome by operators working more closely with one another. An example of this is a business we are starting called Fillmeup, which will create an online platform for operators to sell dead transfer legs to one another or to agents.”  The venture will make more efficient use of Spurwing’s vehicle fleet, assist in the recovery of costs and in environmental friendliness. “The platform will be live within a month – all wheels operators can contact me and we will set them up on the system in preparation for going live,” he says.

Poor maintenance of roads is another cause for concern. “In particular, there is a dire need for repair to potholes on many provincial roads and, in many instances, potholes are left for months on end,” says Iles. He says this is specifically a problem for travel from Johannesburg to Hoedspruit via Dullstroom, Lydenburg and Ohrigstad, but definitely not confined to this route. “Passenger comfort and safety will always remain paramount for Ashtons, so in the meantime we have to negotiate the bad sections of road as carefully as possible.”

Of late, wheels operators have had to contend with the entry of Uber into the market, which, according to Van Zyl, did create some competition.