All public transport associations and service providers will need to reestablish under commercial entities if they are to continue in the public transport business. A new draft directive signed off by the previous Minister of Transport & Logistics, Damgmawit Moges aims to reform public road transport setting qualification standards.

Officials claim it is part of a series of reformations introduced by the Ministry this year to treat transport associations and service providers as commercial entities delineating the powers of the Ministry and its ambitions.

It stipulates that service providers will need to put colour-palleted stickers on the back of their vehicles reflecting the class of services they are authorised to perform, from special operators to level three service providers. These stickers will reflect the class of services permitted by the Ministry with minimum standards set on the type and number of vehicles a company is required to have.

Special public transport operators will be allowed to cross international borders without restrictions on maximum distance. A white sticker is issued to entail vehicles that are less than seven years old. Sole proprietors need a single vehicle with a GPS tracker and 45 passenger seats while share companies and private limited companies will need five and 10 cars respectively.

Level three service providers will be confined to a 300km radius on international roads. The required number of minimum vehicles increases with rising levels reaching 50 for level three operators organized under share companies, with a concomitant waning in the permitted number of services.

All levels are prohibited from charging fees for luggage that weigh less than 25kgs, for children under the age of seven while also expected to begin provision of services at 3:30 AM.

The implementation of the directive pertaining to the freight truck associations suffered backlash when it was announced in late 2022 within a few months of the proclamation.

Mustafa Jemal, head of public transport management at the Ministry conceded that the time gap between the ratification of a  proclamation and the issuance of a directive could serve as a source of "misunderstanding". However, he believes the new draft came into existence with a lot more tact.

"50 associations were consulted within three days of drafting the document," Mustafa told Fortune.

He also indicated that certain stipulations within the draft were in lieu of the Tripartite Transport & Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP) to which Ethiopia is a signatory.