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Bundle transport planning capabilities to improve public transport
from IMIESA October 2021
by 3S Media
TRANSPORTATION
Bundle transport planning capabilities to improve public transport
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The quality of service that public transport (PT) passengers experience in South Africa is very much dependent on the planning capabilities of government, which has historically not always been adequate. The National Land Transport Act sets out the responsibilities for PT planning and includes the introduction of transport authorities and transport planning entities.
By Mpilo Mbambisa* and Pieter Onderwater**
In rural areas, PT is poorly available and unsafe, with long trips that are slow, infrequent, and expensive. In urban and metropolitan areas, PT is better available, but trips are still long, slow and expensive. Also, the different modes of PT are hardly integrated – i.e. road and rail.
The National Land Transport Act (No. 5 of 2009; NLTA) requires that transport planning be developed by the lowest competent level of government. As a result, the responsibilities for PT are scattered over multiple spheres of government and entities.
Planning for rural and urban minibus taxis is the responsibility of municipalities. However, licensing of minibus taxis is a duty of provinces, as are subsidised buses. The introduction of bus rapid transit systems is a metro responsibility, but metropolitan rail’s responsibility lies at a Prasa/National Department of Transport (NDoT) level.
Therefore, implementing an overarching integrated PT network (IPTN) depends on too many different parties at present. Also, most municipalities and some provincial departments have insufficient capabilities to execute transport planning functions.
Transport planning functions as per NLTA
The NLTA outlines the transport functions and locates them in the appropriate sphere of government.
National government is responsible, among others, for: • formulating legislation • publishing national land transport policy, with the aim to increase the use of public transport • setting regulations and requirements for a wide array of transport issues • monitoring policies and planning • establishing national information systems • the National Land Transport
Strategic Framework. The NDoT has developed numerous legislative documents, national policies and discussion papers on several transport issues. The challenge, however, lies in the implementation of these policies.
Provincial government is responsible, among others, for: • implementation of provincial land transport policy • ensuring the link with matters having an impact on transport in the province, including land use management, environmental issues, population growth, economic development and investment in infrastructure, to facilitate integration and efficient transport • coordination between municipalities to ensure the effective and efficient execution of land transport in the province • keeping a provincial information system • the Provincial Land Transport
Strategic Framework. This list indicates that provinces are responsible for translating the national policy into planning, and the coordination of implementation.
In the NLTA, the municipalities are considered to be the most appropriate sphere to perform the transport planning functions and implementation. They are responsible, among others, for developing land transport policy and strategy within their area, based on national and provincial guidelines, which incorporates spatial development policies. The NLTA comprises a long list of municipal duties, requiring a wide variety of expertise over time to be executed as transport authorities.
Mpilo Mbambisa
Pieter Onderwater
Transport authorities
The larger metropolitan municipalities have already started the process of becoming
transport authorities in terms of the NLTA. The future intention is that all relevant transport planning functions devolve to these transport authorities, including metropolitan rail transport, subsidised bus services, and the issuing of operating licences. This will improve the integration and quality of PT services.
However, some of the smaller metros and many rural municipalities are not yet ready to become a transport authority, as they are not always fully equipped.
Shortage of skills
With ‘engineering’ (including the field of transport) identified as a ‘critical skill’, it is expected that not many of the 226 local, 44 district and 8 metro municipalities have the required capacity and skills to perform their transport planning functions. The situation is improving. However, due to the influx of recent graduates, the average engineer has less experience and often lacks proper mentoring and guidance.
Often, the responsible official for transport at a municipality is a general civil engineer (or a law enforcement officer). Their task for transport planning is combined with other infrastructure service delivery functions, like water, sewerage, roads, stormwater, etc. Those are often a higher priority.
Since transport planning is a specialist discipline, many registered engineers at municipal level may not have the relevant knowledge. This makes many of the NLTA’s transport planning functions even more difficult to perform at a municipal level. Additionally, there is limited justification for municipalities to employ a full-time transport engineer.
The NLTA acknowledges that not all municipalities might be equipped to perform the tasks of a transport authority and has included several sections in which it states that the province must assist municipalities that lack capacity and resources.
A province may enter into an agreement with one or more municipalities to provide for the joint exercise of their functions and may establish a provincial transport planning entity (TPE). Likewise, the NLTA states that national government must coordinate and support this. We call on national and provincial governments to accept the challenge.
TPEs should ideally comprise transport planners from the provincial DoT. Most of the provinces have some capabilities to perform this planning work, or are at least able to attract staff if adequate resources are available. Otherwise (as stated in the NLTA), the NDoT must assist those provinces.
Looking after a relatively large area with multiple municipalities, these TPEs will be making multiple integrated transport plans (ITPs), each in a five-year cycle. In doing this repeatedly, they will retain and enhance their capabilities, improving the quality of these planning documents.
Developing local capabilities
To safeguard local knowledge in the ITPs, municipal staff need to be invited for regular workshop sessions by these TPEs. This is also a way to develop local capabilities. Once the capacity-building process has materialised, the transport planning functions could be further devolved. It is likely that this will first happen for the smaller metros and the bigger district municipalities, while the provincial entities might need to retain their coordinating role somewhat longer in smaller rural municipalities.
The result of an ITP will be, among others, a prioritised list of infrastructure projects to facilitate road traffic and PT operations: road upgrade and maintenance programmes, taxi ranks and bus stops, etc. As the coordination is at a provincial level, budgets can be allocated effectively. These projects can be implemented by the municipalities, demanding similar engineering and contractual skills as required for delivering other infrastructure projects, and include local participation.
In conclusion, the required functions on PT policy, planning and implementation (as per the NLTA) are best performed as follows: • The development of transport legislation, policy and regulations should remain at a national level. • The bigger metropolitan municipalities can function as a transport authority, responsible for all planning and implementation.
They should have all tasks devolved to them, including passenger rail transport, subsidised buses, and issuing of operating licences. • As most municipalities are not yet ready to become a transport authority, provincial
TPEs must assist in the responsibilities for PT planning and coordination. This is also where training could be intensified to build capacity to the benefit of all municipalities. • The municipalities will be responsible for the implementation of transport infrastructure projects: road upgrades, PT facilities, etc.
Over time, when capabilities increase, some of the smaller metros and bigger districts can become independent transport authorities, with the provincial planning functions devolved effectively. When transport functions are developed by the lowest competent level of government, the quality of planning improves and, with that, the quality of PT itself improves, enhancing the passenger experience. The NLTA caters for this intervention, but it requires the NDoT to lead from the front.
Acknowlegments
The authors would like to thank Allyson Lawless (ex-SAICE), Logan Moodley (exETA), Mr AZ Soko (Eastern Cape Department of Transport), Bongani Kupe (consultant), Roger Behrens (UCT), Ofentse Mokwena (NWU) and Muhammed Lokhat (law student) for their critical feedback while discussing our thoughts. *Mpilo Mbambisa is a civil engineer with over 25 years working experience in both the private and public sector. He spent most of his working career in local government at both municipalities and provincial departments. He is now working at Hatch as part of the Urban Solutions team. **Pieter Onderwater is a public transport planner at Hatch Africa with over 30 years of experience in both Europe and South Africa. He advises to transport authorities and public transport operators but will always put the needs of passengers first.
