In a bit to improve services in the Public Transport Sector, the Eastern Cape Department of Transport held its first Provincial Integrated Public Transport Master plan consultative session with stakeholders at Golf Course in East London on 11 November 2011.
This follows a successful launch of the Master Plan which took place last Month, where MEC for Transport, Roads and Public Works, Thandiswa Marawu announced 11 November 2011 as a day for Master plan stakeholder consultation session. The session aimed at getting inputs from stakeholders in order to produce a plan that will talk to needs of stakeholders.
“We have a collective responsibility to make society aware of the critical role that we play in social development drawing inspiration from the Parliamentary perspective on the Challenges of Transport” said Head of Department, Tshepo Kgare. She further assured the session about commitment by political principal to public transport from National, Provincial and Local.
She made an emphasis on the need for department and stakeholders to soldier on to reposition public transport as it plays a big role in the development of rural areas.
Stakeholders were given an opportunity to make their inputs on the draft master plan:
Inputs made by stakeholders:
- Requested user friendly transport in BCMM for people with disability
- Stop facility for Buses in O.R Tambo should be considered
- Proposal by Eastern Cape Socio Economic Consultative Council to a plan to be more focused on the connectivity of transport system with other regions – for free movement of goods from in and out of the province
- Need linkage train facilities with bus facilities
- Land reform/spatial development
- Vehicle testing facilities – they are currently far from rural communities
- Lack of institutional structure with regards to policing
- Need to lobby a political buy in
- Ageing taxi fleet need to be verified
- Taxi rank shelters for commuters
