Client: Transport Authority Gauteng
Date: May 2022 – February 2023
Scope/Description: The development of a Provincial Land Transport Framework is a statutory requirement in terms of the National Land Transport Act. The previous Gauteng Provincial Land Transport Framework (GPLTF) was outdated (2009 – 2014) and many changes has happened since then in the transport and broader social environment. These changes included a changing urban form for the province of Gauteng, the introduction of new modes of transport in the metropolitan areas (Bus Rapid Transport), the collapse of commuter rail and the accompanying rise in prominence of the minibus taxi industry, the impact of COVID on public transport and adjusting post COVID, climate change and the transport response to minimise the impact on the environment, the impact of e-hailing and the 4th Industrial Revolution on travel, including Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and big data management and its use to benefit transport planning. The objective was to update the GPLTF for a 5 year period, but taking a 30 year view on the future changes.
Responsibilities: I was the workstream lead, Subject Matter Expert (SME) on the public transport workstream and the funding workstream. The project was managed in phases to which specific deliverables was attached. I was responsible for reporting extensively on the status quo of public transport in the province and was required to liase with 3 metropolitan and 2 district municipalities for this task. The status quo information was presented at a public participation workshop where extensive inputs were received on the issues facing public transport in the province. Strategies, to solve the problems, were developed and cross cutting strategies was workshopped with subject matter specialists. The shortage of funding is a problem and this workstream firstly put together all relevant budgets from all the relevant sources to determine what, in total, is actually spent on transport (planning, infrastructure, operations and monitoring) in the province. Alternative sources of funding was identified as well as an overall need to provide clarity on financial support for public transport operators and users.
Photo by Tembinkosi Sikupela on Unsplash