Abstract:
The National Transport Master Planning, Implementation and Review Directorate of the
National Department of Transport initiated a project to address the challenges that are
inherent in the transport planning field and the poor plight that is faced by transport
planners in South Africa since 2022. The paper departs from the argument that a
traditional state function such as transport planning has been captured by career
consultants due to the lack of a professional mechanism that governs the discipline and
the ongoing lack of adequate capacity in all spheres of Government.
Evidence that has been collected has demonstrated that the National Department of
Transport and Provincial Department of Transport have their various transport plans,
policies and strategies in place. Some of these transport plans, policies and strategies
have been developed by third parties in the form of consultants. The local government
situation is worse than National and Provincial governments. Some municipalities have
their integrated transport plans in place whilst others have none. The common reasons
about the lack of integrated transport plans in some municipalities across the country
relates to lack of capacity, funding and prioritisation of bulk infrastructure services over the
transport field.
This situation has resulted in the proliferation of career consultants in transport planning
processes and projects; Quantity of transport planners employed by the State not known;
lack of formal recognition of the role of transport planners in Government and transport
planning in general; lack of standards and procedures in the employment of professional
transport planners across all spheres of Government , lack of a regulatory body and the
stagnation the transport planning discipline and lack of evolution thereof.
Data collection was done through literature review and consultations with a variety of
stakeholders. The emerging insights from the data illustrate the need to professionalise the
transport planning fraternity and especially the establishment of a regulatory body within
the State. Some of the additional proposals that are advocated by the paper includes;
professional registration of all transport planners (old and new), formulation of a training
programme on transport planning and the National Transport Master Plan 2050;
continuous professional development of transport planners; and formal recognition by the
Minister of Transport through national transport legislation.
