AutoTrader, South Africa’s largest and most trusted motoring marketplace, has invested in making the K53 learner’s book available free of charge to all South Africans via Help Guides.
Leveraging the reach of one of the most visited sites in the country, AutoTrader’s goal is to champion wider access to the K53 manual as a crucial step to greater mobility and financial freedom to many.
“As one of SA’s leading online auto trading sites, we have the opportunity to assist many South Africans,” said George Mienie, AutoTrader CEO. “Obtaining a driving license is a necessary step toward finding personal mobility.”
AutoTrader’s free K53 manual is available to download and boasts a separate learner’s manual, car driver’s manual and a motorcycle manual. “To date, the guides have been downloaded over 15,000 times” reports Mienie. Not only is the book free to obtain, it is supported by parking and driver tip videos too.
The research undertaken by Statistics South Africa revealed multiple areas in which the lives of ordinary South Africans through access to better transport options.
2013’s report ‘Gender Series Volume III: Gender patterns in Transport’ detailed that only 27% of eligible South Africans hold a driver’s license, and men are twice as likely to have one as women.
“Female carers of children, the sick or the elderly are the most disadvantaged when it comes to accessing transport options,” said Mienie “Domestic responsibilities make trip scheduling complex, and it is for these women that a personal license and ultimately personal transport would be hugely beneficial.”
Casting the net wider, AutoTrader’s market research anticipates shared-ownership of cars as a major local trend that will outpace ride-sharing services, making drivers licenses even more desirable.
Sentiments gathered from AutoTrader’s social media channels and SA’s leading automotive online platform AutoTrader, reveal that a driver’s license is seen as the key to upward mobility with regards to earning capacity, especially by students entering the job market. Interestingly, actually owning a car is seen as secondary.
And it is not only in the four-wheeled arena that license access could make a difference.
At the inaugural Motorcycle Industry Stakeholder Summit held in May 2019, AutoTrader presented research findings that pointed to a mostly untapped sector of smaller-engined motorbikes, where the opportunity to solve commuter problems and provide a new source of income is vast.
“Currently the motorbike market is considered for leisure use or status purchases. But bikes between 150cc and 500cc are generally more affordable. This opens up new commuting and even earning options,” said Mienie. “The first step to accessing that mobility is passing the K53 examination.”
The free AutoTrader K53 book can be downloaded at https://k53.autotrader.co.za/
