Abstract:
Urban and transport planning policy and legislation documents play a critical role in
determining successful public transportation in African towns and cities. This paper follows
a historical approach in examining the role of Urban and Transportation Planning
documents in South Africa on Public Transportation from the year 1994 to 2020. The paper
also has a narrow focus on Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM). We followed a
qualitative desktop research to understand how public transportation in particular, Minibus
Taxi Industry (MTI) has been incorporated in urban planning documents, and the impact of
legislation, policies and Acts over the years on public transportation. We identified urban
planning and transportation planning and policy documents between 1994 and 2020 to
identify the changes over the years and the impact on transport planning approaches,
specifically public transportation. During the 25 years, changes in legislation, policies and
Acts have influenced Public Transportation Planning approaches. While previous
legislation, policies and Acts have brought public transportation where it is today, some of
these approaches have caused challenges in the public transport sector. The challenges
have led to a shift in transportation planning approaches, focusing more on spatial
inequality, social injustice, connectivity of urban areas and the promotion of specific
transportation modes. We conclude that, there appears to be a change in course, with
legislations and plans moving away from the "displace and replace" approach and rather
embracing and engaging with the MTI. This in part is because, a large part of South
Africa's population will inevitably continue to use minibus taxi services.
