Abstract:
The South African transport sector entered the age of Covid already beset by several
major challenges. Ageing infrastructure; a lack of impartial regulatory bodies; an
unfriendly environment for private sector collaboration; over-reliance on roads for both
public transport and freight; and a skewered subsidy model are a few of the structural
obstacles that were present.
Covid-19 has both highlighted and exacerbated these hurdles and must force the
industry out of complacency. The challenges it faces must be viewed as opportunities
with the problem areas providing a guide as to the solutions that can be delivered with
maximum impact, where they’re most needed.
Pre-Covid studies had positioned transport among the high impact, high potential
growth sectors that have been earmarked for priority interventions (along with sectors
like financing, petroleum-products, metals, and construction). All of these have the
potential to induce cascading benefits that ripple throughout the broader economy, but
perhaps none more so than transport.
The role of transport in an economy is double-edged: it at once serves the demand of
other sectors, and drives national and industrial competitiveness at the regional,
national and global levels, through enhanced process efficiencies and cost
improvements.
