A study into the provision of a management information system for the South African transportation engineering industry

Abstract

Paper presented at the 30th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 11-14 July 2011 "Africa on the Move", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.

Transportation data is required in the public sector in order to manage road networks, to evaluate development applications, to do transport planning and to address traffic safety concerns. Transportation data is, likewise, required in private practice by consulting engineers, academic institutions and non-governmental agencies concerned with transportation. The aim of the paper is to outline a proposed Transport Management Information System intended to fulfil the above mentioned requirements - a tool that can assist transportation practitioners in the decision making process. The paper discusses the system development process, with specific reference to user and legal requirements. The availability of transport information in South Africa is discussed, and the shortcomings are listed. The full system development falls outside the scope of this paper, but a framework is described in which required datasets can be developed, processed and displayed. The intention is not to develop entirely new technology and the adaptation and integration of existing systems and software packages were investigated. The paper is concluded by stating that users require information on traffic flow, public transport, non-motorised transport, traffic safety, road signs and -markings and traffic signals and that there is a need for the inclusion of this information in a centralised, accessible and user friendly information system.