Lessons from one-way inter-provincial permits and municipas public transport issues in South African towns

Abstract

Paratransit - widely called Minibus Taxi (MBT) in South Africa - is common public transport for the society to reach their socio-economic opportunities and activities. The history of MBT services goes back to 1920’s and it is greatly shaped by the changes in legislative frameworks (broadly the Apartheid regime). This industry remains informal, while its service-quality is widely questioned, and related operational strikes and intense rivalry are at the helm of the national contemporary issues. For rural communities, ‘best’ alternative mobility for long-distance trips is hitchhiking - a service that is globally associated with crime and constituted by a variety of modes, including MBT. That said, this study aimed at highlighting the impacts of the legislative framework, particularly the inter-provincial route

permits, on the travel experience of the public. Primary data includes the random, one-on- one interviews of travellers, and observations of corridors of both hitchhiking and MBT

services. The findings show that in all six towns of interest, the local MBT associations with route permits generally disrupt the hitchhiking services to guard their market shares. As a result, many travelling experiences and livelihoods of the hitchhiking assistants are negatively affected. The Provincial Regulatory Entities need to align their protocols to efficiently serve, and these may need further research on public-private relationships, including ICT institutions, to bring forth amicable and sustainable solution(s).