Strategic Assessment Of The Impact Of The Priority Infrastructure On The Perfomance Of Minibus-Taxi Services In The Context Of South Africa

Abstract

The minibus taxi industry has grown to become the largest provider of transport to the urban public. Attempts have been made by government to regulate, integrate, and upgrade this sector but all such efforts have been largely unsuccessful. Taxi drivers face immense pressure from passengers and the taxi industry to increase their performance which leads to hostile driving behaviour and often fatal accidents on the road. Transit priority measures have been used to advance the quality of service of buses and BRT vehicles but have not been extended to include the paratransit industry. The single lane pre-signal strategy was identified as an alternative to the traditionally used curb-side stop to load and offload passengers. The purpose of the paper was to quantify the economic impact that such a form of infrastructure would have on minibus taxi operators, passengers, and other road users. It was observed that there was a decrease in travel time, user cost, operating cost, and the total cost per trip for the minibus taxis. Pertaining to the car drivers, a decrease in travel time and total cost was observed. It was concluded that not only is South Africa ready for such a disruptive change, but it is a necessity to redress the injustices of the past.