September 23, 2005
By Tammy O'Reilly
THE government's ambitious plan to get people out of their privately owned vehicles and on to buses, taxis and trains was kickstarted with the announcement of Public Transport Month.
October has officially been declared Public Transport Month, during which national and provincial departments of transport, roads and works will hold various activities to encourage people to make use of public transport.
Public transport in Joburg
The announcement was made at the unveiling of the Strategic Agenda for Transport in Gauteng, which took place at Park Station, a constituent of the inner city's main transport node.
The agenda will act as the blueprint for the transformation of the province's transport system over the next five years - in time for the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup.
One of the key activities planned for Public Transport Month is the holding of a Car Free Day on Thursday, 20 October. On this day people will be expected to be less reliant on their vehicles, and it also will give the government the opportunity to monitor the results of the month's efforts.
Incidentally, 22 September is International Car Free Day, endorsed by the United Nations. It is said to be a success in European countries.
"Pedestrians, bicycles, public transit and any other forms of sustainable transportation are encouraged on this day," said MEC for Transport, Roads and Works Ignatius Jacobs.
"Annually Car Free Day has expanded to many cities throughout the world. Currently over 100 million people in 1 500 cities celebrate International Car Free Day."
Quoting a number of transport statistics, Jacobs underlined the government's motives behind the project, saying it would benefit individuals, the economy and the environment.
"Fourteen percent of trip makers spend longer than an hour per trip. The average time spent travelling is 73 minutes by train, 53 minutes by bus, 49 minutes by taxi and 25 minutes by car," he said.
"Now it may seem logical to continue using private vehicles but the number of private vehicles on our roads increases by 10 percent per annum. If this continues, in a few years' time we will have no control over transportation."
Private cars accounted for half the number of motorised passenger trips. Jacobs said this contributed to traffic congestion.
"Previously, peak periods on our roads would start from 6.40am. The number of cars on our roads has increased so much that peak period now begins as early as 4am and continues to about 9am."
He said the campaign also would make people aware of the high cost of maintaining the road network; the negative effect of fuel emissions on the environment; the effect of depleting crude oil reserves and how that will affect the price of fuel; and the sustainability of the vehicle.
"We are not anti-car, but we want to encourage car users to use public transport to and from work and reserve their cars for off-peak times," Jacobs explained.
"This will reduce congestion and create more space on our roads for public transport to [get] commuters to their destinations safely and on time."
Turning to affordability, he said the more people used public transport, the cheaper the fares would be. More than 480 000 people in Gauteng spent more than 20 percent of their income on public transport.
"Our objective is that no household should spend more than 10 percent."
In an effort to promote the use of taxis in particular, over time the department will introduce public transport corridors where buses and taxis will be able to move quicker than private cars and trucks.
New and safer taxis will also be introduced, as unsafe vehicles are scrapped. The formation of legitimate taxi associations will be encouraged and drivers will be identified to attend driving courses.
Some of the challenges Jacobs outlined were the quality and poor image of the current transport system, and the lack of effort made to attract middle- and high-income car users to public transport.
"Our public transport network does not serve many new destinations. Our rail coaches are an average of 30 years old. We also need to look at subsidising the taxi industry.
"Currently R1,6-billion a year is spent on bus and rail subsidies while the taxi industry receives no subsidy at all," he said.
Jacobs acknowledged that the plan was likely to be sniggered at by people, but said the concept was devised in people's best interest.
"This is not just some brainwave that the premier or Ignatius Jacobs woke up with one morning. It is something that we have well mapped out.
"What we need now is co-operation from the people. This plan needs cadres. It needs an army if we are serious about changing the face of transportation in the country."
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