The City of Cape Town, the Provincial Government of the Western Cape (PGWC) and the South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA) initiated the Eco-driving Training Pilot project as part of the 2010 Green Goal Programme.

Twenty metered-taxi drivers were selected to participate in the pilot phase of the eco-driving training. A service provider was appointed to develop an eco-driving training manual and to train the selected drivers to drive in a fuel efficient manner. The appointment included the facilitation of theoretical and practical knowledge as well as learner assessment. The pilot project was sponsored by SAPIA.

The key objective of this training was to promote fuel efficient driving habits which will result in fuel savings as well as a reduction in harmful vehicle emissions and an improvement in urban air quality.

The pilot project was launched on 9 March 2010. The metered-taxi drivers received theoretical (one day) and practical (one day) training in eco-driving principles.

What next?

A number of subsequent initiatives will be undertaken in order to ensure the long term success of this eco-driving training initiative. These include:

• The launch of a fuel efficiency campaign by the City and PGWC to promote eco-driving, which will highlight the benefits of driving more efficiently in terms of reducing fuel consumption, fuel costs and vehicle emissions.
• The rolling out of the eco-driving training programme to both City and PGWC’s vehicle fleet drivers as these organisations jointly operate a fleet of approximately 10 850 vehicles, thereby resulting in a substantial decrease in energy consumption and vehicle emissions in the City and Province.
• The inclusion of the eco-driving training course as part of PGWC’s official programme to improve the skills of metered-taxi drivers in the Western Cape Province.
  
• The integration of the eco-driving training material into the current redesign and development of the Unit Standard Professional Driver qualification under the Transport Education Training Authority in order for it to become an accredited and compulsory module for professional drivers in South Africa.