Building a sustainable platform for low-cost mobility in South Africa

Abstract

Paper presented at the 32nd Annual Southern African Transport Conference 8-11 July 2013 "Transport and Sustainable Infrastructure", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.

The transportation burden faced by developing rural and urban communities on a daily basis in South Africa is real and substantial. Many rural communities for example are still not connected to the main rural network or are only provided with unreliable access to socio-economic opportunities. This lack of mobility and accessibility of goods and persons has had the effect of limiting their participation in the mainstream economy thereby entrenching their isolation. No wonder this lack of access is regarded as one of the most significant determinants of poverty. The problem is not transitory, that is, given time it will pass away. Thus, the challenge for transport policies is clearly to achieve a much better level of general mobility and accessibility, at a much lower cost. Non-motorized transport modes provide that option. In this regard, the need for a concerted, deliberate and systematic effort to redress this problem cannot be over-emphasised. Making use of largely secondary data, this paper will seek to showcase as well as assess the work of the Department of Transport running the gamut from demonstration projects, workshops, design fiestas, to a non-motorized transport policy with a view to determining the gaps in the current approach in terms of type and intensity of intervention options as a departure point for crafting a much more robust implementation framework.