National Land Transport Act, 2009 (Act No. 5 of 2009)RegulationsNational Land Transport Regulations, 2009Chapter 4 : Operating licences: general provisions14. Conversion of a permit to an operating licence |
| (1) | A permit may be converted to an operating licence only if the services authorized by the permit have been provided continuously for a period of 180 days prior to the date on which the application was lodged, and subject to section 47(3) of the Act. |
| (2) | Subject to the Act and the other provisions of these regulations, the operating licence issued to replace a permit must confer the same authority as the permit. |
| (3) | Before granting an application for conversion of a permit to an operating licence, a regulatory entity must— |
| (a) | be satisfied that the services authorised by the permit have been provided for 180 days prior to the date of commencement of the Act, and 180 days prior to the date on which the application was lodged; |
| (b) | be satisfied by virtue of the applicant's record as an operator that the applicant is still a fit and proper person to provide public transport services; |
| (c) | be satisfied that the vehicle in question is properly registered and licensed and that a valid roadworthy certificate has been issued for the vehicle as required by the National Road Traffic Act; and |
| (d) | be satisfied that the relevant planning authority is aware of the application and the services being provided by the operator. |
| (4) | Where a permit for a non-contracted scheduled service or minibus taxi-type service is radius or area based, it must be converted to an operating licence that specifies a detailed description of the route or routes on which the vehicle may be used, by specification of street names, road numbers, beacons or land marks: Provided that— |
| (a) | in the case of a feeder or distribution service, a collection area may be specified; and |
| (b) | an area of operation, which may be country-wide, may be authorised for charter services. |
| (5) | Any directions provided by the planning authority based on its ITP as to whether the permit has or has not been in use for 180 days supplied in terms of regulation 3(2) or 6(4) shall be binding on the regulatory entity. |
| (6) | Where a permit that is valid for a definite period is converted, the operating licence issued in its place must have the same expiry date as the permit, but that expiry date may not be later than seven years after the date of commencement of the Act. |
| (7) | The NPTR, in consultation with the PREs and MREs, must formulate a strategy for conversion of permits, including dates and programmes for such conversion, which may' be in respect of areas or types of permits, or on any other basis, and may include increasing or decreasing application fees or taking other measures to encourage early applications for conversion. |