Abstract:
Public Transport in its various forms is the most widely used form of transportation by
commuters within South Africa. It caters for the travel needs of up to 70% of commuters,
and therefore plays a significant role in contributing to the economic vibrancy of the
country.
Within the South African context, public transport has significantly contributed to the
progression of urbanisation. Major cities across South Africa depend on public transport to
convey commuters to the urban centres daily, ensuring that these urban areas are easily
accessible and well connected to their associated outlying regions. These urban centres
have also been shaped by the presence and operation of public transport. A booming
industry that has emerged is the informal trade sector, who depend on the public transport
industry and patrons for their livelihood. In this way public transport plays a vital role in
moulding the character and culture of urban areas. Ove the past two decades, urban areas
have been in a state of decline. Factors such as overcrowding, poor maintenance, delays
in the provision of new roads and buildings infrastructure, among other factors, has
resulted in dilapidation of infrastructure, pollution, crime, traffic congestion, all working
together to make urban centres extremely chaotic and unattractive environments to be in.
As a result, major businesses pull out of the urban areas, urban areas become
progressively more dysfunctional, becoming a greater financial burden to government
departments. In spite of this, there are still thousands of commuters who use public
transport to travel to these urban centres for their livelihoods. Public Transport therefore
has the potential to be a conduit to derive economic and social revitalisation in such urban
areas. The Pinetown CBD within eThekwini Municipality serves as an example of a oncethriving node which has significantly degenerated. As part of the urban decay, the public
transport infrastructure within the Pinetown CBD also became severely dysfunctional and
is in need of major reform. Through a public transport study undertaken by the eThekwini
Transport Authority’s (ETA), the solutions that were identified not only provided an
improved service and infrastructure response to the public transport sector, but had the
potential to provide revitalisation for businesses within the CBD, as well as to bring reform
to the informal trade industry. By presenting the findings from the Pinetown study, this
paper will demonstrate the way in which public transport can drive economic and social
revitalisation in CBDs.
