Program Director
MECs Present
Councillors Present
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Long ago, in a Biblical narrative, we are told of a story of a man who took preparation and planning very serious. In that story we are taught how proper planning and execution can pay off. We are shown the marvels and fortunes of looking ahead. It is in the story of Noah, the obedient and hardworking man that these virtues are underscored. Turning to Noah’s moral and powerful narrative in order to appreciate the value of putting one’s mind and energies into current realities, anticipated threats or challenges so as to avoid future emergencies is significant and relevant in this context.
It was not raining when Noah built his ark. He did everything in time in order to avoid the floods. He perfectly understood that with proper planning - collecting all the required material during the right season- disaster could be avoided. Indeed, the story has the happy-ending with all paired species saved and accommodated in Noah’s ark.
As in Noah’s story, the Gauteng Transport Conference allows us to plan and execute during favourable season. It provides us with the opportunity to address tomorrow’s issues today. It encourages us to seize the future while today’s time and space permits. It provides a platform for government, business and civil organs to have reflective engagement and share ideas in a quest to improve the state of public transport in Gauteng. This conference is a space that promotes meaningful consultation on matters of planning, implementation and importantly funding amongst all the role-players and stakeholders in road and transport infrastructure sector.
Most recently, the public road and transport system has been hogging the headlines and attracting negative publicity. The discourse has been slanted to an extent that if you were not staying in South Africa you may think that the public transport network is non-existent in this country.
Unfortunately, the bankruptcy of this discourse has been projected such that the peddled one-sided view is now perceived as the only rational and all-encompassing view on current public transport system discussion. The voice of government organs as authority on these matters has been drowned in the sound and fury of the headlines with no prospect of ever being heard.
In the light of these developments, the conference should help to seize public discourse space by submitting sound and pragmatic plans that seek to enhance both the discussions and public transport network services.
Program Director,
Considering Gauteng’s strategic role in developing and growing the economy of the country, the development of intermodal public transport system in this province is a priority. As government, we understand and appreciate that the development of an integrated public transport network is one of the key drivers in the realisation of G2055 Vision. We also understand that to be a competitive Global City Region we need to invest in the construction of advanced road networks that will facilitate the swift transportation of goods and services.
We need road infrastructure that will help to reduce the cost of doing business in Gauteng by reducing travel times and minimise operation costs through better managed infrastructure.
It is through such investment that multitudes of Gauteng residents can enjoy unhindered access to educational and social institutional opportunities. We therefore need to harness and leverage the economic competitiveness of each region and municipality by improving transport and road in a functional economy.
Gauteng Province is one province in the country with well-maintained road networks and providing a variety of transportation modes. However, there is a very narrow debate that is often raised by those that wish to demean the value of government efforts in public transport. There are those who argue that we do not have public transport system generally and in Gauteng specifically. This is a fallacious argument especially if one considers the availability and existence of such infrastructure in our urban areas.
While we are the first to acknowledge the weaknesses in our public transport system but a dose of exaggeration given to us by some detractors is mischievous. In their blinkered view and obsession with punching holes in government efforts they fail to comprehend the profound effect of the inherited apartheid spatial planning of our urban areas. They fail to recognise that the cities and towns of our country were never meant for free access to and enjoyment of the vast majority of our people. As a young democracy, the realisation of an adequate fully fledged public transport system will be a progressive process.
The reality is that in this Province we have the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link as one mode that has been rolled out in the first phase. We also have the BRT and hundreds of buses operated through contract that provide subsidised public transport as well as the taxi operators who through their own initiative, have played an important role in enhancing accessibility to public transport over many years.
We are advancing in our efforts to provide public transport in Gauteng. The three metropolitan municipalities (Joburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni) have embarked on planning, design and operationalisation of the Integrated Rapid Public Transport Networks (IRPTN) with BRT trunk corridors being the anchor. They are guided by the Public Transport Strategy and the Bus Rapid Transit: Planning Guide. The City of Joburg, City of Tshwane and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality are at various stages of planning, development and execution of the IRPTN.
Transport is not restricted to political and administrative boundaries, but operates within functional areas. For all intents and purposes the entire province of Gauteng is a transport functional area and this uniqueness lends itself aptly for the need to develop a broad Gauteng BRT Strategy.
In respect of the immediate focus areas, the GPG has been working with municipalities to develop the BRT systems and also with Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) to enhance the current rail transport system. These initiatives are only a start in revitalising public transport systems. Further enhancements will be realised once the Gauteng Transport Authority has been established.
Program Director,
There is currently an over-emphasis on road-based public transport in Gauteng with taxis carrying 42%, buses 12%, 5% using trains while 41% is made up of private commuters.
The lack of modal integration and inadequacy in meeting the increasing demands, the private vehicle as a preferred mode of transport has the competitive advantage. There is a greater need to reverse this trend by continually increase investment in the integration of systems as well as new transport technologies. If we do this, the challenges of congestion, road rage and carbon footprint will be minimised.
These interventions should be accompanied by investment in non-motorised transport systems to enhance both the social interaction of our people and improve their quality of health. This would have to be achieved in a safe and well delineated infrastructure rollout.
However, the fundamental public transport problem we encounter is the fragmentation found in the Gauteng City region. Whereas the province is defined as a single transport area with jurisdictional accountability but the split between municipal boundaries and exacerbated by split in modal responsibilities between tiers poses a serious challenge.
What we need as the province is the creation of a single Gauteng-wide Transport Authority to address the inefficiencies. Improved system co-ordination can enhance urban access and mobility, which in turn, has social, economic and environmental implications for Gauteng residents.
From a Government perspective we are convinced that the destiny of our province, our citizens and our economy will only be defined in the context of a function transport network. Even more important, this can only be achieved in a modernised and integrated public transport system that will be affordable, sustainable, accessible and customer-centric. We therefore call for the constructive participation of all public transport stakeholders in defining the blue print that will take us to this destination.
As you engage in various commissions, the discussion should be characterised by frankness and openness within the framework of the objectives of the conference. There are many critical questions that you will have to address. And the proposals that will emerge out of your discussions will definitely impact on the future of the Gauteng City Region.
In closing, I would like to urge all present today to approach the task at hand with diligence and commitment that it deserves.
Dankie. Ngiyabonga.
