Eastern Cape Transport to host Public Transport Summit

As part of the October Transport Month Campaign and a dire need to improve the quality of public transport, particularly in the rural areas, the Eastern Cape MEC for Transport Thandiswa Marawu will host a Provincial Public Transport Summit at Pine Lodge Resort and Conference Centre in Port Elizabeth on 25 to 26 October 2012 at 08h30.

The summit is a culmination of public consultation processes with various stakeholders, including taxi, bus and train operators, local and district municipal officials, labour organisations, the business community, users of public transport and the disabled community, which are currently underway as the Eastern Cape Department of Transport is busy developing a Provincial Integrated Public Transport Master Plan (PIPTMP).

“It has become evident that we are still going to face serious challenges in our efforts of changing more than a century of racial social engineering that displaced the majority of South Africans to the margins of our societal settlement if we do not emerge with a credible public transport plan that will improve the mobility and accessibility of our people,” said Marawu.

The new plan seeks to lay a roadmap that will transform public transport in the province and lead to the integration of bus, taxi and train services for the benefit of all public transport users.

The major issues identified at the various consultation sessions include long waiting times for public transport, poor service in rural areas due to bad roads, difficulties faced by women and disabled passengers and operating licence issues. Additionally, regular meetings are being held with the Eastern Cape Bus and Taxi Business Chamber to discuss their participation in the PIPTMP.

The summit will serve as a very important platform to obtain input from stakeholders in the transportation industry regarding the PIPTMP and the way forward to accomplish the ideals set out in the PIPTMP Concept Strategy.

In addition to addresses from various institutions involved in public transport, workshop sessions will be held at the summit during which the four major topics i.e. Institutional, Operational, Infrastructure Improvements and Funding for Public Transport will be discussed by stakeholders.

Media contact:
Ncedo Kumbaca
Cell: 082 562 6023