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Government schools in Johannesburg will officially open on Wednesday, 14 January. Thousands of learners across the city rely on scholar transport to get to and from school.
However, over the years, numerous incidents have been reported involving learners in road accidents linked to negligence and unsafe transportation practices for scholars.
This year, the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRT) has issued a stern warning to scholar transport operators, urging parents and caregivers to ensure that they only enrol their children in safe and compliant transport services.
"Scholar transport safety starts with you," the department stated in a Facebook announcement.
Parents were urged not to assume that transport is safe, but to check whether vehicles are roadworthy. Unroadworthy cars pose a serious risk to drivers, passengers and other road users.
Scholar transport drivers are required to hold a valid Public Drivers' Permit (PDP), which is a mandatory requirement in South Africa for anyone operating public transport.
Overloading remains one of the significant challenges facing scholar transport nationwide. The department has requested that parents ensure their children are not transported in overloaded vehicles and that all cars have adequate seating and functioning seatbelts. Effective January 2026, South Africa's updated seatbelt law requires all drivers and passengers to wear seatbelts while a vehicle is in motion. Failure to comply will result in a fine.
Scholar transport vehicles must also display the ' Scholar Transport' sign.
The Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, has also issued a strong warning to scholar transport operators, stating that the government will intensify efforts to ensure learners' lives are not put at risk.
“For the next nine months, millions of children will depend on drivers to get them to school safely. Every time a child gets into a vehicle or walks near a road, their life is in someone else’s hands. We will not allow unroadworthy vehicles or unlicensed operators to transport our children,” Diale-Tlabela said on Sunday.
She added that vehicles found to be unroadworthy or operating without the required permits will be impounded on the spot, and drivers without valid licences will be arrested.
The MEC also called on parents to play an active role in protecting their children.
“Parents have power. Your money gives you a voice. Don’t pay for transport in a vehicle that doesn’t have proper seating for every child, working seatbelts, or is visibly unroadworthy. Report unsafe vehicles to us,” she said.
Diale-Tlabela also asked all drivers on the road to be vigilant.
“You might not have children in your car, but you share the road with them. That child crossing the road could be distracted or running late. You’re the adult in control of a ton of metal. The responsibility to watch out for them is yours,” she said.
"We committed to ensuring safe roads for every Gauteng learner. The government is doing its part through enforcement. Now we need every driver, every parent, and every operator to do theirs,” the MEC added.
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