Changes in legislation often have a big impact on fleet management. Whether it's changes to traffic fines or regulations about how specific goods must be transported and stored, you need to keep ahead in order to keep your fleet running smoothly.
Operating an efficient fleet requires you to constantly adapt to external factors. Everything from road construction to fuel pricing, legislation, and even disruptive weather can affect how your fleet operates. And none of these are within your control.
Fleet managers must ensure they have the flexibility within their operations to make changes when needed. The only way to ensure minimal downtime is to plan ahead for possible scenarios and make the right call when you need to.
Planning ahead and enabling fleet flexibility, however, requires information and knowledge. Fleet managers must have access to the correct information regarding potential changes to legislation or regulation within the industry. And they must have access to experts with the knowledge to turn this information into a feasible fleet plan.
For this reason, fleet managers can’t operate in a silo—they must stay informed of all factors that could affect their operations. A good example is the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) which is playing an increasingly prominent role in taking the South African government to task about various legislative matters.
About OUTA
OUTA is a “registered non-profit civil action organisation that focuses on exposing government corruption and the abuse of taxes and public funds through investigation, research, communication, empowerment and litigation.”
Whether you agree with OUTA’s approach or not, the fact remains that many of their projects have a direct impact on the transport industry. Fleet managers, therefore, need to be in the loop.
Some of OUTA’s current projects include:
- AARTO: OUTA believes that there are sections in AARTO (the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offenses etc) that are unconstitutional, not practical, and unworkable and that its focus is generating revenue rather than road safety. OUTA is in an ongoing court challenge to amend sections within AARTO. Outcomes and predictions have a direct impact on the fleet industry.
- Road tolling: OUTA wants to know how much SANRAL’s toll road operators (the concessionaires) are collecting, and how much they hand over to SANRAL. OUTA has submitted formal requests for information to SANRAL, using the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), to get this information on three toll road concessionaires. All these requests were refused and the matters have gone to court. The next court date is set for March 2023.
- e-tolls: Finally, after over a decade of challenging the government’s e-toll decision on Gauteng’s freeways, the decision to scrap the scheme has been taken. The scheme was marred with administrative challenges and public resistance since inception and OUTA’s campaign finally paid off. How this will be rolled out remains to be seen, but it is in progress.
- Drivers' licences: To overcome the current inefficiencies and delays in the renewal of driving licences such as the failed equipment processes, incapacity of driving licence training centres, and corrupt official practices, OUTA calls for the validity of driver's licences to be extended from 5 years to 10 years. The Department of Transport finally announced its decision to amend the validity period from 5 to 8 years, largely on the back of input, engagements, and research by OUTA.
These are just a few examples, but all of these projects, and their current or potential outcomes, have a direct impact on the fleet management industry. Every one of these concerns affects how fleets are managed and their operating costs, which is at the heart of the entire fleet process.
To loop back to the beginning: this is why fleet management can’t be done in a ‘silo’. There are so many issues ranging from legislation to vehicle parts availability that affects the whole industry, not just individual companies.
Effective fleet management companies must keep ahead of all these factors to efficiently manage the fleets in their care. Many of these topics affect fleet planning and the processes put in place to manage daily operations. If your fleet management company is not part of these discussions, they can’t effectively plan the future of your fleet.
Informed advice
By keeping track of OUTA’s projects, EQSTRA is able to manage their client’s fleet processes according to current legislation while also planning for potential changes.
By staying ‘in the loop’ fleet management companies are better equipped to handle sudden changes, or plan for future fleet process adjustments. To put it simply: an informed fleet supplier saves you time and money.
When it comes to fleet management, access to vital information is the key to staying ahead of the game. Don’t get left behind! Subscribe to our blog for key fleet insights and download our handy AARTO booklet to keep track.
