The preparation of a Provincial Integrated Public Transport Master Plan (PIPTMP) will be completed during the first quarter of the 2013/14 financial year.
This assurance was given this afternoon by the Eastern Cape MEC for Transport, Roads and Public Works Ms Thandiswa Marawu during the presentation of her policy speech at the Provincial Legislature in Bhisho.
The final draft of the Plan will be presented to stakeholders at a follow-up Stakeholder Meeting before finalisation.
“This plan will be a legacy that we can showcase in this electoral term and we believe that it will be appreciated by future generations,” said Marawu.
She acknowledged that a reliable, safe an affordable public transport system would not be achieved overnight. However, the following are amongst the key aspects that have been identified for the successful implementation of the Plan:
- The National Land Transport Act (NLTA) and the Municipal Systems Act (MSA) make provision for a number of alternative institutional structures or entities to carry out transport responsibilities at provincial or municipal level. These structures could be tailored to oversee and monitor the implementation of the Provincial Integrated Public Transport Master Plan, either at local or district level or at provincial level on behalf of municipalities that do not have the internal capacity to do so.
- The goals for the transformation of the public transport industry should be founded on the improvement of the quality of the public transport services provided to the community. Existing unscheduled services provided by individual operators, sometimes with below standard vehicles, must be transformed into scheduled services with an improved quality of service and safety standards.
- Existing operators should be empowered to transform from individual, informal businesses operating in competition to each other with uncertain income streams, into formal businesses e.g. co-operatives or Pty Ltd Companies that can tender formally to provide public transport services on a contractual basis. The objectives for the process to achieve this should be inclusive, involving all current operators in an empowerment initiative to improve business skills.
- The transformation and capacity building of the public transport industry is a prerequisite for the introduction of any new services that may be proposed in the Plan.
An analysis of capital and operating costs for the provision of the public transport services proposed will be included in the Plan as well as potential income sources for public transport for further investigation.
Marawu promised to continue with her discussions with the national Department of Transport to include the existing provincially funded bus services in the Public Transport Operations Grant (PTOG).
This would potentially free up funding that the Province currently budgets for reallocation to the new proposed services.
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