Unlocking the freedom of movement

The City of Cape Town’s Integrated Development Plan 2022-2027 places a significant focus on improving its multimodal public transport platforms.

The current transport system in Cape Town faces significant challenges, with high levels of congestion and the collapse of rail making travel costly and timeconsuming for many commuters. Public transport services, particularly rail, require urgent attention. However, improvements must take place in the context of very limited funding for large capital investments in new public transport modes and corridors.

The City of Cape Town intends to pursue the incremental improvement of public transport infrastructure and operations in a way that delivers maximum benefit, for the greatest number of commuters, as quickly as possible. This programme will focus on integrating different modes of public transport to improve access and the safety, convenience, reliability and quality of transport services for commuters.

Public transport investments are critical to support a more spatially integrated, higher-density and diverse built environment (underpinned by transitoriented development) and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector.

Priority measures The design of Cape Town’s road network offers an important opportunity to offer priority to public transport vehicles over private vehicles. The City intends to plan and construct infrastructure improvements at various locations in the road network to provide speed advantages to road-based public transport in mixed traffic.

It will also pursue operational traffic management interventions to provide speed advantages for public transport services. This will serve as an incentive to commuters to switch to public transport as a more sustainable form of travel, and will improve the efficiency of operations for public transport providers.

The City will prioritise commuter safety in transport infrastructure design, such as by improving lighting on non-motorised transport links (e.g. walkways and cycle paths) with public transport interchanges.

The City also aims to upgrade public transport interchanges, including universal access measures to ensure that persons with disabilities can easily utilise these spaces. The City will prioritise multimodal, integrated ticketing, where possible, to ensure a smoother customer experience across the transport system. Precinct management around public transport interchanges will be strengthened to derive maximum economic benefit from these facilities, particularly for people currently excluded from the formal economy. This initiative will include the upgrade of public transport interchanges along the new BRT corridor linking Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain with Claremont and Wynberg.

Taxi and bus services The City recognises the importance of minibus taxis as the dominant mode of road-based public transport for Cape Town’s residents. The City is committed to working with and supporting industry partners in incrementally improving minibus taxi services. This includes improving the quality, reliability and safety of services for commuters, and enhancing interoperability with other transport modes. The City is looking to evolve its Transport Operating Company (TOC) model as a partnership-building process, and will use the available regulatory measures to improve the quality of minibus taxi services.

Contracted buses are currently operated by the Western Cape Government and are the second largest

provider of road-based public transport in Cape Town. However, much can be done to improve the integration of this service with other modes of public transport and, therefore, enhance the quality, safety and efficiency of the service. As the planning authority and intended contracting authority, the City will work with the various spheres of government to effect the assignment of the contracted bus function to the municipality, along with the relevant grant funding.

Bus rapid transit (BRT) The City is committed to expanding its own public transport offering, namely the MyCiTi BRT system, to improve the quality of public transport services in Cape Town.

Currently, this expansion is taking the form of BRT, with a major BRT corridor being implemented between Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, Claremont and Wynberg in the next five years.

This BRT corridor is critical in building a quality, universally accessible public transport system for Cape Town. This investment will improve transport connectivity and access for some of the most vulnerable neighbourhoods in Cape Town, improving the speed and safety with which people can travel and at a cost they can afford. The transport system will also create the foundation of transitoriented development along this corridor, supporting strategic densification and access to economic opportunities.

While actively expanding it, the City will continue to maintain and operate the existing MyCiTi service, delivering a high-quality, reliable service to the people of Cape Town, striving for operational efficiency, and continually expanding its ridership. Key partnerships will be sustained to ensure that the MyCiTi N2 Express service continues to be delivered to a high standard.

Rail improvement Failing passenger rail services in Cape Town, which are operated by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), have severely affected the level of access of the region’s most vulnerable residents, presenting a significant barrier to their movement around the city and access to jobs and services.

Over the past 10 years, rail passenger numbers have declined sharply, in large part due to the continued failure of the rail service. This has affected travel times and costs, as well as workplace productivity; for some people, it has even led to the loss or curtailment of employment. The urgent protection of rail infrastructure and the reinstatement of services are critical to the functioning of Cape Town’s transport system, and therefore a key concern of the City.

In its new IDP 2022-2027, the City states it will advocate strongly for the devolution of rail functions to a competent local authority or entity, together with concessions being made available to the private sector, so that the restoration of passenger rail services in Cape Town can become a reality.

The City will strongly advocate for an alternative governance and management model for urban rail, where rail functions are devolved to a competent regional or local authority or entity. This initiative will include advocating for Prasa to make available rail route concessions to the private sector so that private funding can be leveraged to make travel in Cape Town safer, cheaper and easier.

FAW Trucks spreads its symbolic wings and puts its customers first

Originating over six decades ago, FAW Trucks continues to put the quality of its products and the satisfaction of its customers first.

The history of the FAW name and logo is both long and interesting. Today, both are instantly recognisable as symbols of quality, resilience and reliability, but delving deeper into the origins gives one a clearer understand of and appreciation for all the brand has achieved.

It was more than six decades ago, under the guidance of China’s Central Committee and with assistance from the former Soviet Union, that China’s first automotive production base was born. Known at that time as First Automotive Works, the company firmly launched the country into the automotive age.

The timeline Interestingly, FAW’s history starts in the former Soviet Union in 1949. Mao Zedong had been so impressed with the automotive industry in that country that, as part of an alliance treaty, the construction of China’s first modern truck factory was set into motion. The plan, of which the creation of what is now known as FAW formed a major part, was approved in 1951. In 1953, this vision came into fruition when ground was broken for the new company’s first factory; in 1956, the first product bearing the FAW name was introduced.

That first product was the fourtonne Jiefang CA-10 and it set the tone for the enviable reputation for building virtually indestructible vehicles that FAW Trucks has attained over the years. In fact, some of those original units are still running today.

Extensive development, refinement and changes have taken place within the company since then. In stark contrast to the early days of producing a single model of medium truck, FAW now produces numerous truck models that are suitable for a variety of applications. In 1992, the company’s name was also changed from First Automobile Works to FAW Group Corporation, giving it a more modern and contemporary image.

“Here in South Africa, FAW Trucks has also become one of the true success stories of the commercial vehicle market. Continuously reaching new sales heights since the first locally produced unit rolled off the assembly line in 2014, the brand now has a 16-strong range of commercial vehicles in different body derivatives that cater to virtually every need and application,” says Yongjun Li, CEO of FAW South Africa.

The logo The original FAW logo was also introduced in 1953 and did not look that different to the one seen on all models from FAW Trucks today. Back then, it only consisted of a black horizontal oval within a thin white outline though. In the middle of this oval was a white number ‘1’, surrounded by thick horizontal white lines that formed two wing-like structures and resemble a flying hawk.

The use of the number ‘1’ was not a spontaneous choice for the brand though. In Chinese,

the name FAW is a combination of the symbols for ‘One’ and ‘Automotive’, and as mentioned before FAW was indeed China’s first automotive manufacturer.

The depiction of a hawk is also significant, as it is symbolic of how FAW flies throughout the vast skies of the world, spreading its wings, soaring higher and farther into the sky.

A wide reach The way in which the FAW Group has extended its reach across the globe is indeed impressive.

“Since its inception, the FAW Group has developed – among others – extra-heavy, heavy, medium and light commercial vehicles. It has 17 wholly owned subsidiaries and 15 holding companies, four of which are listed. The Group employs more than 130 000 people and has assets in excess of R240 billion, while boasting an annual sales volume of over 3.1 million vehicles,” Li says.

“The FAW Group commenced its export programme in 1984 and currently provides products and services to more than 70 markets across six major export regions around the globe, of which South Africa is one. The Group has more than 50 Tier 1 agents and more than 350 Tier 2 distributors in these regions.

“The Group has its own dedicated product planning, development, engineering, design, testing and verification facility, as well as certification capabilities. It is China’s largest base for the research, development and testing of finished vehicles, bodies, chassis, engines, replacement parts, new processes and new materials,” Li notes.

A leading modern company In 2000, the logo was refined and modernised to bring the brand into the 21st century. The bold custom lettering was added under the badge in order to complete the brand’s new image and also to showcase its new blue and white corporate colours.

Explains Li: “The blue and white colour palette of the FAW logo stands for reliability and protection, accenting on such qualities of the brand as loyalty, safety and resilience. The thick lines of the lettering make the logotype solid and bold, evoking a sense of stability and seriousness.”

The continued success of FAW Trucks in the South African commercial vehicle market can be traced back to this company ethos, as the local operation has, over the past 28 years, established itself as a trusted supplier of durable and reliable vehicles that are not only competitively priced but also affordable to maintain.

“FAW Trucks might not have been the first commercial vehicle brand in South Africa, as it was in China, but the local operation remains true to the original vision of the company. This includes a pursuit of perfection combined with pride in everything we do. We place our customers first and continually endeavour to exceed their expectations,” concludes Li.

www.faw.co.za