Tuk tuks are proliferating in Nelson Mandela Bay, helping to solve transport problems and driving the economy.
Atul SA director Sibongiseni Kunene said the tuk tuk business was good and the company, which is based in Fairview, was looking to expand.
“We now have 40-50 tuk tuks running in Gqeberha and we are looking to get into more areas and grow our footprint to reach people who really need a cheaper mode of transport that gives them dignity and respect, that transports them door-to-door and makes their lives easier in these busy times.”
He said the company was hoping to upscale from being an assembly plant to a factory as well.
“We now get the parts from India and, having assembled them here, we supply Southern Africa.
“We now build about 30 vehicles a month, but we’d like to increase this number and create more jobs by expanding and also by starting to produce these vehicles here.
“With more funding support from the government, that could be done.”
He said the demand was already huge in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
“Now finally Nelson Mandela Bay has joined the party.”
He said he was convinced that the tuk tuk could solve a lot of economic and lifestyle problems for South Africans.
“That’s especially because of their fuel efficiency in the face of high fuel costs, and because of the jobs that each vehicle sold creates.
“Typically a company will buy one and then employ someone to drive it, so it’s a multiplier effect.
“We have created 50 jobs in this way since we moved premises to Fairview four months ago.”
He said as the fuel price continued to rise and the need grew for a cost-effective vehicle that delivered big and small items, and which could also carry people — the market for tuk tuks would continue to grow.
“If you look at other African and Asian countries and even European countries they have hundreds and thousands of these vehicles doing ‘last mile transport’.”
In supply chain management and transportation planning, last mile transport refers to the last leg of a journey in which passengers and goods are ferried from a transportation hub to a final destination.
Last-mile delivery is an increasingly studied field as the number of business-to-consumer deliveries grows, especially from e-commerce companies in freight transportation, and ride-sharing companies in personal transportation.
Kunene said besides assembling and selling tuk tuks, Atul SA’s House of Tuks arm offered services carrying packages and people.
“We work closely with the taxi associations and do corporate deliveries for various restaurants, laundromats and other businesses in and around Gqeberha that need cheap, reliable delivery.
“We help our drivers get their licences and professional driving permits and thereafter they can earn a good salary.”
He said the Atul SA had already begun the transition to clean energy.
“We have petrol, diesel and electric tuk tuks, which is crucial for vehicles as the country looks to go green.”
He said the tuk tuk was set to play an important role as Bay communities sought to confront tough times.
“It is the most economic vehicle on the market and also a big player in job creation and getting our youth off the streets and into decent jobs that help them feed their families and really make an impact in our economy.”
Discover Mandela Bay project manager Shaun van Eck said the tuk tuks were a fun transport element in Nelson Mandela Bay and they could be used to grow tourism in the city.
“They could help transform the industry by bringing in black tourism entrepreneurs and, run in fleets of four or five, with their open but robust design, they could be particularly suited to township tourism, which we are determined to expand and improve.
“It’s definitely something we will be investigating.”
He said the solar-powered micro-electrical vehicle model launched this week in Alicedale was also something that could be introduced in the Bay.
“Tourists are becoming more and more choosy related to environmental and social justice concerns and if we could add solar to our tuk tuks that would be awesome.”
Glendenningvale-based Oh My Coffee bought two Atul tuk tuks nine years ago and, having designed and installed a barista coffee bar in each vehicle, the owner has been putting food on the table and having fun ever since.
Oh My Coffee owner Tess Heine said she had given up her job as a radiographer to plunge into the mobile coffee bar business after a trip to New York where she encountered the archetypal newspaper-bagel-and coffee merchants on every corner.
She said the tuk tuks were central to her operation.
“They’re a key element of our brand,” she said.
“Because they’re open, people can see and smell the coffee being prepared.
“They’re also fuel-efficient, even with our coffee equipment, highly manoeuvrable, and can fit into small spaces.
“We do sports events, weddings, stag parties, golf days and even funerals.
“I employ two baristas on a regular basis, but when there are big events like the life-saving nationals or the Grey derby days we have up to six in the team.
“There are so many tuk tuks on the road these days and it seems a lot of the time they’re being used as taxis, which of course is a great idea.
“We’ve had a great deal of fun and there are so many options.
“I would like to install a gin bar, but I’ll probably stay with what I know.”
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