By: Matshediso Selebeleng

As the first term of the new academic year begins, many learners across the North West rely on scholar transport to travel safely between their homes and schools. However, incidents of overloading continue to pose a serious risk to learner safety. In November 2025, traffic officers in the province impounded a 15-seater scholar transport vehicle that was carrying 29 learners—almost double its permitted capacity. The incident was strongly condemned by the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management. According to departmental media liaison officer Charles Matlou, while the province does not experience widespread challenges with scholar transport overloading, authorities remain vigilant and are urging communities to report any violations. “We don’t have a major challenge with overloading because the service level agreement between the department and service providers is very clear,” said Matlou. “We specify how many learners must be transported to a particular school, which determines the type of vehicle to be used. However, we urge parents and community members to report any cases of overloading so that we can investigate.” Matlou warned that offenders will face the full might of the law. To address the issue proactively, the province has deployed traffic officers across major routes to monitor scholar transport vehicles. “Our traffic officers are active throughout the province. If they come across an overloaded vehicle, action is taken immediately. Fines are issued and the trip is halted until an additional vehicle is arranged to transport the excess learners,” he said. MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng, has reiterated that learner safety cannot be compromised under any circumstances. While transport operators are primarily responsible for overcrowding, Matlou said parents also have a role to play. “We urge parents to report service providers who overload vehicles, but we also caution them not to contribute to the problem by allowing their children to use unsafe, overloaded transport,” he said. Matlou added that all traffic offences carry legal consequences. “It becomes complex with parents because the department has agreements only with service providers. However, service providers who are pressured to break the law must report those responsible. Ultimately, we call on all parents to ensure that they never put their children’s lives at risk,” he said.