TRANSPORT

The Gauteng government hopes to sign an in-principle agreement with the province’s three major municipalities – Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Johannesburg – on the formation of a Gauteng Transport Authority (GTA) before the local government elections, to be held on August 3, says Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Dr Ismail Vadi.

Vadi and his department are also in discussion with the national Department of Transport on the legislation required to allow the formation of a GTA.

Should Vadi miss the August cut-off date, his department may have to move back to square one – convincing newly elected local councils of the necessity of a single transport authority managing public transport in what the province calls the Gauteng City Region (GCR).

Metropolitan councils have constitutional powers in terms of the provision of public transport, which have, in the past, hampered cross-council cooperation.

Vadi argues that a more cohesive strategy among the three metro councils will prove beneficial to commuters.

There are many public transport systems within the GCR, he notes. However, these systems lack integration, with no common standards set for public transport.

This means, for example, that Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya bus system makes use of high-floor buses, while Tshwane’s A Re Yeng service uses low-floor buses. Rea Vaya uses one type of eticket system, while Gautrain uses another.

“We have horses bolting in different directions.”

Common standards are not the only problem, explains Vadi. There are also the challenges of rapid immigration from other provinces to Gauteng, leading to higher demand for public transports; the province’s urban sprawl; a lack of investment in public transport infrastructure; high levels of daily movement across municipal borders; the existence of multiple transport authorities; and poor intergovernmental coordination.

Gauteng is currently home to 13.3-million people.

Vadi regards the public transport system in Gauteng, holistically viewed, as inefficient, with the different authorities and operators too “inwardly focused”.

“We are not meeting demand or public expectations.”

Vadi says the Gauteng Transport Commission is only an intermediary solution, as it is a voluntary body.

If Gauteng wants to develop the economy of the GCR efficiently, it requires a legally constituted public transport authority with legal powers, he emphasises.

The focus in developing this authority should not be on form or structure, he adds, but rather on doing what needs to be done to ensure more efficient public transport in Gauteng.

The GTA, once formed, should focus on, among others, centralised public transport planning; the sharing of data; developing common time- tables among transport modes; the development of a single eticket; holistic route planning; securing the necessary public transport subsidies and funding; eliminating inefficiencies and service duplications; determining common norms and standards; and negotiating and enforcing public transport permits.