Programme Director;
Members of the SABOA National Council and National Executive Committee;
Mr Manamela of the National Department of Transport;
Mr Patel of the National Department of Transport;
Mr J van der Merwe from the Gautrain Management Agency;
Mr A du Sart from Aon;
Professor J Walters from the University of Johannesburg;
Mr Vallint from the Automobile Association in the United Kingdom;
Distinguished guests;
Members of the media present;
Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
Programme Director
I must articulate my sincere appreciation for the invitation to the Southern African Bus Operators Association (SABOA) 2015 National Conference. This is one of the important platforms that strengthens and further expresses the importance of stakeholder engagements between government and the transport business sector. It is a meeting of the minds aimed at moving our national economy forward. We note with distinction that 2015 is the 35th year since the establishment of SABOA. And this coincides with the 60 years celebration of the Freedom Charter; our blue print that chartered a way and ushered our nation into a democratic dispensation.
How significant it is that we hold this particular conference during the Human’s Right month whereas South Africa we have just witnessed history in the making as the mortal remains of the Sons of the soil, our stalwarts Comrades Moses Kotane and John Beaver Marks were brought back to the land of their birth from Novodevinchy cemetery, in Moscow, Russia. Every human being has a right to be born and buried in their country of birth. But the apartheid thought contrary to this and denied them their fundamental human right. Today they are back in a free and democratic South Africa. As the hounorable President announced they will be reburied on the 14th and 22nd March 2015 at Pella and Ventersdorp in the North West, respectively. South Africa, we are committed to ensuring that this country belongs to all who live in it, this is our mandate and we are progressively moving our nation forward.
Ladies and gentlemen
Since the dawn of democracy, the national Department of Transport has released two National Household Travel Surveys (NHTS) first in 2003 and in 2013. These were undertaken to gain insight into the travel patterns and transport problems in the country which in turn provides the NDOT with information which are using for research, planning and policy formulation. The information will further assist transport authorities where transport initiatives and interventions such as areas where transport subsidies could be needed.
Policy imperatives in the national public transport domain
Since the adoption of the Public Transport Strategy and Action Plan in 2007 progress has been made in the improvement of public transport in the country. We are gradually moving away from the current basic supply orientated commuter operations towards demand based services with modal upgrades and transformative vehicle recapitalisation for the development of Integrated Public Transport Networks (IPTNs). One of the focal points of the present administration tenure in relation to transport, is to ensure that integrated public transport systems are promoted (passenger rail and road based services), and make public transport become the transport of choice for the people of South Africa. This is aligned with the strategic focus of the National Development Plan (NDP), which advocates that “emphasis should be placed on the total transport network.”
Public transport development and spatial transformation across all geographic scales is among the critical cornerstone of our cohesive, vision driven National Development Plan. Currently policies, plans and instruments such as the Public Transport Strategy are being reviewed, and developed to reduce travel distances and costs, especially for poor households; to align to the tenets of the NDP, which proposes among others to:
- Invest in public transport, which will benefit low-income households by facilitating mobility.
- Establish effective, safe and affordable public transport.
- Invest in new infrastructure for services that directly affect the poor, such as public transport.
- Promote spatial transformation interventions through:
- Strong measures to prevent further development of housing in marginal places; and
- Increased urban densities to support public transport and reduce sprawl. - More reliable and affordable public transport and better coordination between various modes of transport.
The NDP further proposes the provision of social protection as an important component of NDP implementation through a social wage, which includes no-fee schools, free basic services and subsidised public transport. As a result, I must emphasize that it is critical that the lessons learned during the initial stages of implementing the Public Transport Strategy be continually assessed on the basis of alignment with the broader political and policy imperatives as found in the NDP.
Current public transport systems review
Ladies and gentlemen
In this regard the Department has started a process of reviewing and updating the Public Transport Strategy as well as other programmes such as the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme and the subsidised bus contracts in order to bring them together into an integrated public transport system. Key issues for considerations in the review process are:
- Integrated Public Transport Networks should be incrementally expanded beyond the 13 metropolitan municipalities to ensure affordable, higher quality services in other areas that will be less infrastructure intensive than the larger cities.
- Urban and regional or rural “integrated” (IPTN) processes will be brought together, particularly, in respect of minibus taxi involvement and the transition (transformation) of informal operations to formal, scheduled and contracted services.
- The implementation of networks should allow for a more nuanced and differentiated strategy, acknowledging that in the medium-sized and smaller cities where congestion is not a problem, network development and industry transformation a priority than infrastructure development.
- Specific rural public transport initiatives should commence after the demand for services has been determined using the public transport findings of the 2013 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) and trends and changes since the 2003 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) to identify revealed demand, particularly for work and scholar trips by mode of travel and accessibility to activities.
Positive strides reported in our public transport
Programme Director
In the 5 years between 2009 and 2014 some of the major achievements are the following:
- Over 100 kilometres of dedicated lanes have been constructed in City of Johannesburg (CoJ), City of Cape Town (CoCT), Rustenburg, NMB and Tshwane.
- Around 400 kilometres of mixed traffic feeder routes have been completed and opened.
- Fifty-eight bus stations as well as over 350 stops/shelters and 4 depots that can service more than 600 vehicles have been constructed.
- As Minister Peters indicated in 2014 that from 2010-2015 we envisage procurement of 1400 buses, which then we only had 400; to date over 900 buses have been purchased in City of Johannesburg (CoJ), City of Cape Town (CoCT), Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB), Tshwane and eThekwini.
- Three AFC smartcard systems are operating in City of Cape Town (CoCT), City of Johannesburg (CoJ), and eThekwini.
- Tow full ITS systems are operational in CoCT and CoJ and an interim system is in place in NMB; Compensation has been paid to scrap over 1 300 taxis in CoCT and CoJ.
- Extensive non-motorised transport (NMT) facilities have been built in CT, JHB, Rustenburg and eThekwini.
- CoJ Phase 1a and 1b Rea Vaya services are currently carrying 45 000 passengers per day.
- CoCT Phase 1a services between the CBD and Table view, Atlantis, DuNoon Century City, the Airport, Inner City/Gardens, Waterfront, Sea Point and Hout Bay are currently carrying around 53 000 passengers per day.
Coupled with these, the rail sector through PRASA commenced with the implementation of a turnaround strategy in April 2007. A critical component of this strategy was the Accelerated Rolling Stock Programme to improve the availability of the current rolling stock through the refurbishment of almost 2 000 coaches by 2010. As a result of the Accelerated Rolling Stock refurbishment programme, government capital investment has increased from R688 million in 2005/06 to R5.5 billion in 2011/12 and is currently at R10.7 billion including the provision for the new rolling stock. It is evident, therefore, that the public transport sector has seen significant improvements in the recent past.
The public transport sector has seen improved investment since 2005, first with the Gautrain improvement, then with the investments through the Public Transport Infrastructure and Systems Grant and most recently with the rail recapitalisation process. When combining the respective funding sources (PRASA, PTIS, PTNOG and PTOG) there is approximately R23 billion available in 2015/16 for public transport in South Africa which will grow to about R27 billion in 2017/18 due to the increase in the rail capital budget. It is quite an achievement that to date we have already received brand new state of the art passenger train coaches and more are still expected in 2015/16 financial year. We believe and argue that these investments are moving closer to the required funding benchmark for public transport in terms of various studies, suggesting that the sector is at the beginning of a significant cycle of improvement.
Areas that pose challenges
As the National Department of Transport, we however acknowledge that there are challenges. In order to execute a comprehensive programme of improvement across the country, the current funding allocations will need to be sustained and certainly increased to account for the extensive backlogs and to appropriately fund the pro-public transport policy and legislation.
Programme Director
In general government subsidy levels for both rail and bus public transport in South Africa is high, at around 60 percent of the economic cost of rendering the services. Very few, if any, African states provide any public transport subsidy and even in European countries, which provide strong policy support to public transport, the levels of subsidy rarely exceed 30 percent. However, despite the large subsidy in South Africa, 18 percent of households still spend more than 20 percent of their household income on transport (NHTS, 2013). This shows that the solution for our public transport challenges goes beyond funding and includes issues such as spatial development planning, proper management and proper planning. Unfortunately, South Africa’s public transport system challenges are compounded by serious service backlogs as a result of years of neglect and underinvestment in public transport.
A recent report by the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) concluded that South Africa’s transport system problems are largely characterised, and should be acknowledged, as service delivery backlogs. Despite the recent funding increases, the cumulative shortfall has not yet been adequately addressed. This applies across all modes including in the development of alternative forms such as non-motorised transport. Therefore addressing such backlogs will take a significant amount of time and requires focused interventions and appropriate consolidation of functions. Injection of funds alone will not be adequate to solve our public transport problems.
There are also other challenges in public transport that need to be addressed. For example, the Public Transport Strategy only focused on 13 large metropolitan municipalities whereas there is also a need for intervention in rural areas and other parts of the country. Access to public transport services, particularly for learners in the rural areas need to be improved. According to the 2013 National Household Travel Surveys, 8.3 percent of learners walk more than 60 minutes to their educational facilities as a result of lack of access to transport services and educational facilities in their respective communities. Furthermore, walking remains the main mode of travel to school since 64 percent of learners walk to school, although the figure is down from 76.3 percent in 2003. On the other hand, very little has changed in rationalising public transport subsidies since they are still mode based, limited to rail and bus and excluding minibus taxis.
It is therefore critical that the current system and the way in which public transport funds are allocated are reformed in order to support a sustainable integrated public transport system. It is also important that our reforms reflect the transformation agenda of the industry in terms of gender parity. Our government has emphasized the emancipation of women into all economic streams, and we believe that SABOA is one of the organizations that must strive for women inclusion in its business.
Ladies and gentlemen
We all are aware of the catastrophic challenge we are facing on our roads through road accidents. This road carnage is further exacerbated among others by unroadworthy vehicles which also include buses, reckless driving and speeding. It is important that bus companies conduct regular health checks on their drivers and further have relief driver programmes to avoid driver fatigue which is also counted among factors causing road accidents. To this end, establishment and enforcement of periodic self-assessment by respective companies conducted on both driver and vehicle will profusely curb major road accident committed on our road. It is important to state that road accidents eat R306 billion from the economy, and this is unsustainable for any country.
Conclusion
Programme Director
Finally, it is imperative that we acknowledge the contributions of the Southern Africa Bus Operators Association in public Transport in ensuring that our people and leaners are provided a much needed service. As government, we are always available to forge partnerships that will indeed contribute to the development of our country and our economy through sound investments in all modes of transportation especially the rail and road sectors. As I conclude I need you to coin the image of where we will be in 2030. Yes, it is 2030, and we have a first class integrated, efficient, reliable, affordable, accessible, safe and secure public transport systems and public transport has become the transportation of choice across the length and breadth of South Africa. Now, in 2030, our story keeps growing as if spring is always with us. Once, we uttered the dream of a rainbow nation. Now we see it, living it. It does not curve over the sky. It is refracted in each one of us at home, in the community, in the city, and across the land, in an abundance of colour. When we see it in the faces of our children, we know: there will always be, for us, a worthy future. I wish you progressive and productive deliberations.
I thank you.
