National Land Transport Act, 2009 (Act No. 5 of 2009) Chapter 1 : General Provisions 1. Definitions

 

In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise—

 

"adapted light delivery vehicle"

means a vehicle that has been designed or modified by a registered manufacturer to carry persons in accordance with the National Road Traffic Act;

 

"authorized officer"

means—

 

"bus"

means a motor vehicle designed or modified to carry more than 35 persons, including the driver;

 

"charter service"

means a public transport service operated by road involving the hire of a vehicle and a driver for a journey at a charge arranged beforehand with the operator, where—

 

"commercial service contract"

means an agreement concluded between a contracting authority and an operator in terms of section 43, and in terms of which the operator—

 

"commuting"

means travelling daily between home and work by means of a public transport service, and "commuter" has a corresponding meaning;

 

"concessionary fare"

means the fare paid by a passenger falling within a special category;

 

"Constitution"

means the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996;

 

"contract"

means a subsidised service contract, negotiated contract or commercial service contract;

 

"contracting authority"

means—

 

"courtesy service"

means a service provided by or on behalf of an organization such as an hotel, which is not an operator, for its customers or clients, either by means of its own vehicle or the vehicle of an operator in terms of an agreement with that organization, with no direct charge to the passengers;

 

"Cross-Border Act"

means the Cross-Border Road Transport Act, 1998 (Act No. 20 of 1998);

 

"cross-border road transport"

means cross-border road transport as defined in section 1 of the Cross-Border Act;

 

"Department"

means the national Department of Transport;

 

"designed or modified"

means designed or lawfully adapted by a registered manufacturer in compliance with the National Road Traffic Act;

 

"eNaTIS"

means the electronic National Traffic Information System controlled by the Department, or any similar replacing system;

 

"framework"

means an outline for the structure within and the form according to which a plan, policy or strategy is determined and developed;

 

"Gazette"

means the national Government Gazette;

 

"holder"

means the holder of an operating licence or permit;

 

"infrastructure"

in relation to land transport, means fixed capital equipment and facilities in the land transport system;

 

"inspector"

means an inspector appointed under section 86;

 

"integrated development plan"

means the integrated development plan which, in terms of Chapter 5 of the Systems Act, must be prepared by a municipality;

 

"integrated public transport network"

means a system in a particular area that integrates public transport services between modes, with through-ticketing and other appropriate mechanisms to provide users of the system with the optimal solutions to be able to travel from their origins to destinations in a seamless manner;

 

"integrated transport plan"

means an integrated transport plan contemplated in section 36;

 

"interprovincial service"

means a public transport service operating between two or more provinces;

 

"intraprovincial service"

means a public transport service operating within the boundaries of a province;

 

"land transport"

means the movement of persons and goods on or across land by means of any conveyance and through the use of any infrastructure and facilities in connection therewith;

 

"lift club"

means an arrangement whereby every member of the club has a turn to convey or cause to be conveyed by means of a motor car the other members of such a club or other person designated by such members to or from specified places for a specified purpose as contemplated in section 69, and subject to that section;

 

"long-distance service"

means a scheduled or unscheduled public transport service, other than a service for commuting, that is provided beyond the boundary of the area covered by an integrated transport plan, where passengers are charged fares individually, as contemplated in section 65;

 

"major special event"

means an event such as, but not limited to, the FIFA 2010 World Cup, and includes the periods before and after that event necessary to conduct and finalize the necessary land transport arrangements;

 

"MEC"

means the Member of the Executive Council of a province who is responsible for public transport in that province;

 

"metered taxi service"

means a public transport service operated by means of a motor vehicle contemplated in section 66 which—

 

"midibus"

means a motor vehicle designed or modified solely or principally for conveying more than 16 but not more than 35 persons, including the driver, and for the purposes of the National Road Traffic Act is a type of sub-category of bus;

 

"minibus"

means a motor vehicle designed or modified solely or principally for conveying more than nine but not more than 16 seated persons, including the driver;

 

"minibus taxi-type service"

means an unscheduled public transport service operated on a specific route or routes, or where applicable, within a particular area, by means of a motor car, minibus or midibus;

 

"Minister"

means the Minister responsible for transport in the national sphere of government;

 

"motor car"

means a motor vehicle, other than a motor cycle, motor tricycle or motor quadrucycle as defined in the National Road Traffic Act, designed or modified solely or principally for conveying not more than nine persons, including the driver;

 

"motor vehicle and vehicle"

means a motor vehicle as defined in section 1 of the National Road Traffic Act;

 

"municipal entity"

means a municipal entity as defined in section 1 of the Systems Act;

 

"Municipal Finance Management Act"

means the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003);

 

"Municipal Land Transport Fund"

means a municipal land transport fund established in terms of section 27;

 

"municipality"

includes all types of municipalities contemplated in section 155 of the Constitution;

 

"municipal operator"

means a municipality or municipal entity which operates a public transport service;

 

"municipal public transport"

means public transport contemplated in section 11(1)(c) and any other function assigned to the municipality under section 11(2) or (3);

 

"National Land Transport Strategic Framework"

means the National Land Transport Strategic Framework contemplated in section 34;

 

"National Public Transport Regulator"

means the National Public Transport Regulator contemplated in section 20;

 

"National Road Traffic Act"

means the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act No. 93 of 1996), and includes regulations made under that Act;

 

"negotiated contract"

means a contract contemplated in section 41(1);

 

"non-contracted service"

means a public transport service other than one operated in terms of a commercial service contract, subsidized service contract or negotiated contract;

 

"operating licence"

means a licence required by section 50 and granted and issued in accordance with this Act or the Transition Act;

 

"operator"

means a person carrying on the business of operating a public transport service;

 

"organ of state"

means an organ of state as defined in section 239 of the Constitution;

 

"permit"

means a public road carrier permit issued in terms of the Road Transportation Act, 1977 (Act No. 74 of 1977), or another law predating the Transition Act and recognized as valid by the Transition Act, and which is in force and has not yet been converted to an operating licence on the date of commencement of this Act;

 

"persons with disabilities"

means all persons whose mobility is restricted by temporary or permanent physical or mental disability, and includes the very young, the blind or partially-sighted and the deaf or hard of hearing;

 

"planning authority"

means a municipality in relation to its planning functions;

 

"prescribed"

means prescribed by regulation by the Minister, unless otherwise indicated or unless the Minister has delegated to the MEC the power to make the regulation in question by notice in the Gazette;

 

"provincial department"

means the department within the administration of a province that is charged with public transport matters;

 

"Provincial Land Transport Framework"

means a provincial land transport framework contemplated in section 35;

 

"provincial law"

includes a provincial act or regulations made by the MEC under this Act;

 

"Provincial Regulatory Entity"

means a provincial regulatory entity contemplated in section 23;

 

"Public Finance Management Act"

means the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999);

 

"public transport"

 

"public transport service"

means a scheduled or unscheduled service for the carriage of passengers by road or rail, whether subject to a contract or not, and where the service is provided for a fare or any other consideration or reward, including cabotage in respect of passenger transport as defined in the Cross-Border Act, and except where clearly inappropriate, the term "public transport" must be interpreted accordingly;

 

"rail service"

means a public transport service operated on a rail track or any rail guiding mechanism, and includes light and heavy rail;

 

"registered manufacturer"

means a manufacturer, importer or builder of motor vehicles registered under section 5 of the National Road Traffic Act;

 

"regulatory entity"

means the National Public Transport Regulator, a Provincial Regulatory Entity, or a municipality to which the operating licence function has been assigned;

 

"roadworthy certificate"

means a certificate certifying the roadworthiness of a motor vehicle in accordance with the requirements of the National Road Traffic Act;

 

"scheduled service"

means a public transport service operated by road on a particular route or routes in accordance with a timetable;

 

"service"

means a public transport service;

 

"South African Rail Commuter Corporation"

means the South African Rail Commuter Corporation established in terms of section 23 of the Legal Succession to the South African Transport Services Act, 1989 (Act No. 9 of 1989);

 

"special categories of passengers"

means persons with disabilities, the aged, pregnant women and those who are limited in their movements by children;

 

"special event"

means a one-off cultural, religious, sporting or recreational event, or any entertainment, conference, exhibition or show;

 

"staff service"

means a public transport service by road provided by means of a vehicle owned by an employer or a vehicle provided by an operator in terms of a contract with the employer, used exclusively for conveying the employer's employees;

 

"Structures Act"

means the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act No. 117 of 1998);

 

"subsidized"

in relation to services, means a situation where passengers are provided with financial assistance to be able to afford services that they could not otherwise afford or where services are subsidized for other reasons, for example to encourage public transport usage, relieve traffic congestion, or to support land use and transport integration;

 

"subsidized service contract"

means an agreement between a contracting authority and an operator to operate a service provided for in an integrated transport plan and in terms of which the operator receives direct or indirect financial support in terms of a tendered contract;

 

"Systems Act"

means the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act 10 No. 32 of 2000);

 

"this Act"

includes any regulation made in terms of this Act;

 

"timetable"

means a published document informing passengers of headways (intervals between departures or the passing of vehicles), or times when and places where public transport services are available, indicating at least origin and destination points and significant intermediate locations along the route;

 

"tourist transport service"

means a scheduled, unscheduled or chartered public transport service by road for the carriage of tourists to or from tourist attractions according to a predetermined itinerary, and includes transfers of tourists, for example from hotels to and from airports;

 

"transfer"

in relation to an operating licence, means a transfer from the holder of the operating licence to another person;

 

"Transition Act"

means the National Land Transport Transition Act, 2000 (Act No. 22 of 2000);

 

"Transport Appeal Tribunal"

means the Transport Appeal Tribunal established by section 3 of the Transport Appeal Tribunal Act, 1998 (Act No. 39 of 1998);

 

"transport plan"

includes the National Land Transport Strategic Framework, the Provincial Land Transport Framework and an Integrated Transport Plan;

 

"travel demand management"

means a system of actions to maximize the capacity of the transport system for the movement of people and goods rather than vehicles, among others, through increasing vehicle occupancy, developing priority measures for public transport, encouraging travel during off-peak periods, shifting demand between modes, restricting the space available for parking, adjusting the price of parking, and other appropriate measures;

 

"tuk-tuk"

means a three-wheeled motor vehicle designed or modified solely or principally for conveying not more than three seated persons, including the driver;

 

"unscheduled service"

means a public transport service operated by road on a particular route or routes, or, where applicable, within a particular area, without a timetable.