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Date : 22/10/2006
Source: Department of Transport
Title: Radebe: Transport Indaba During Transport Month


Address by Mr Jeff Radebe Minister of Transport at Transport Indaba, Vista University, Soweto

For the past decade, our government rightly focused much of its attention on the basic needs such as water, sanitation, housing and education, which are all key to the lives of our people. But it is transport; our trains, buses, taxis and roads that often determine the quality of our life. Our Transport Month campaign since its inception, attempts to make this point.

The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) has analysed the concerns of our people living in the most deprived areas of South Africa. Overwhelmingly they listed public transport as a major concern. Poorer people are likely to walk long distances to catch a taxi or a bus. Children from poor families are more likely to walk longer distances to school than children from affluent areas.

Most people face the anger, irritation and frustration when their journey takes twice as long as it should. When people talk about the bad day they have had, they are often talking about the rail trip, the taxi or bus trip they have just taken.

Despite the growth in car use, public transport and walking are still the predominant "lifeline" forms of mobility for the vast majority of South Africans to access work, schools and services.

According to the Survey (NHTS 2003):

* thirty eight million citizens live in households with no access to a car
* forty million citizens do not have drivers' licences
* fourteen million learners walk to school, and seven million workers and learners use public transport
* thirteen point seven million use public transport at least once a week and seven million use private cars.

A modern South Africa needs a modern public transport system. We require an aggressive public transport system that is safe, punctual, reliable and affordable. Our public transport strategy, as endorsed by the Transport Lekgotla, begins to address these challenges. The strategy is firmly based on the White Paper on National Transport Policy and the Moving South Africa Action Agenda.

The key pillars of the strategy are twofold; the aggressive modal upgrading as well as the integrated mass rapid public transport networks. In terms of the modal upgrading, our strategy calls for urgent improvements in the current public transport services and the accelerated upgrade of the public transport fleet as its centrepiece.

It requires of us to stabilise operational environment through short-term interventions such as the:

* consolidation of the passenger rail sector
* rolling out the National Passenger Rail plan
* fast tracking and implementing taxi recapitalisation including improved regulation and law enforcement
* transforming and optimising current subsidised bus services.

The public transport strategy will enable the achievement of our vision of a sustainable mass rapid public transport system. We are going to ensure the promotion of a growing public transport sector that is able to meet the needs of current and new users and is able to deliver functioning intermodal systems.

It is our firm belief that the emphasis needs to be placed on transforming the semi-formal operators into an integrated system that is planned and well managed by the public sector, while being operated by the existing private operators. The strategic aim is to work with existing operators and existing road and rail infrastructure, in order to reorganise and upgrade operations into a high quality integrated network.

This will allow existing operators and their workforce to have a guaranteed stake in a new mass rapid transit network and will ensure improved revenues for operators and service delivery for users and government.

The building blocks of our strategy include among others:

* strong local planning, regulation and management of public transport networks
* rapid and innovative action-plans and projects based on local Integrated Transport Plans that optimises network efficiencies across all modes of transport including non-motorised transport
* strong local enforcement capacity to deal with safety and security issues in the public transport system
* fast-tracking of national initiatives to stabilise modal sectors
* management and control of car use and land use to ensure viable and efficient transport.
* Access to transport for rural and urban poor through the extension of affordable services.

Part of this work is already in motion and major strides are being made particularly to fast-track the taxi recapitalisation in order to replace the ageing taxi fleet. We have already consolidated the passenger rail entities, South African Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC) and Metrorail, and have developed a turn around strategy for the passenger rail service. We have also developed a model tender contract for the transformation of the bus subsidy system.

My Department has to a large extent developed draft strategies in the areas of rural transport, special needs users, Black Economic Empowerment, etc. Additional work is currently being undertaken on public transport subsidy reform, travel demand management and electronic fare collection and further work will be done to develop strategies for effective devolution to the most appropriate sphere of government and to achieve corridor-based networks at citywide scale.

Looking ahead, our strategy will ensure:

* increased overall capacity of municipalities in planning, regulating and managing locally-driven mass rapid public transport networks
* a city network that prioritises quality public transport and non-motorised transport and quality public space system
* phased but effective implementation of an integrated mass rapid public transport system
* effective integration of transport planning and land use management
* effective regulation and enforcement capacity and tools in place
* enhanced personal safety and security in our public transport system.

A clear implementation plan will be developed by the end of 2006 and will also be used to motivate for additional funding. A critical component of our action-plan will include three action agenda areas:

* An accelerated Recovery and catalytic projects to stabilise the current passenger transport service delivery environment as well as to recover from the lack of proper infrastructure and operations investments.
* The promotion and delivery of basic networks to achieve physical implementation. The purpose is to fully upgrade key integrated mass rapid public transport corridors particularly in all six metropolitan cities and districts.
* Lastly, we will advance and sustain accessible networks in order to significantly expand and transform public transport through large scale or mass implementation in the long term.

An additional R5 billion expenditure per annum is required to address the current decline in service levels and to implement our strategy over the next 10 to 15 years.

The eyes of the world are also on us as we accelerate our preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. A 2010 Transport Action Agenda has already been developed and the World Cup Public Transport Infrastructure and Systems Fund have allocated a first round of funding to municipalities. The success of this event is dependent mainly on our ability to provide world-class infrastructure and systems that will be enjoyed by all South Africans well beyond 2010.

Government has set aside R3,8 billion for the public transport and non-motorised transport infrastructure for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Our Transport plan will ensure:

* efficient and safe transportation for all visitors
* but most importantly it will ensure sufficient air, road and rail transport operators and infrastructure to accommodate the event.

My department is currently engaged in detailing the World Cup development programme and some of the key thrusts of our programme include among others:

* calling for project proposals from host municipalities in order to allocate funds for 2007/08 onwards
* overall Programme Management and Interdepartmental co-ordination on World Cup development
* structured communication and co-ordination with all stakeholders in transport sector to ensure overall co-ordination for transport readiness and delivering a legacy of improvement
* champion accelerated investment to ensure relevant infrastructure, systems and operational readiness to host the World Cup
* over-arching planning and analysis that includes accurate transport predictions to develop successful operational plans
* World Cup transport concept plans setting out overall transport plans for hosting events.

We have already started implementing some of our transport projects. As I have indicated, R241 million has already been allocated to the host municipalities. A further R700 million will be allocated during the current financial year. The success of our initiatives depends solely on your full support. We must do more to embed this at the heart of our discussions.

We have to use the Transport Indaba to be bold enough to consolidate these initiatives. We must take forward decisively a successful Public Transport Plan which truly complements our economy. And this to me is the essence of our Transport Indaba.

Let me also draw your attention to an urgent issue of the devastating increase of road accidents in our road network. The number of people affected by accidents rises every year. And it is our families that suffer the most devastating effects of these accidents. On average accidents take 13 000 innocent lives every year. This translates to R43 billion in costs to the economy annually. Our Road Safe Strategy as approved by Cabinet will introduce drastic steps to improve the levels of road safety.

We will be intensifying law enforcement on public transport, pedestrians and cyclists. An investigation will soon be finalised to declare Traffic Enforcement an essential service to enable officers to work during evenings and weekends. Extra traffic enforcement personnel will be employed to improve the visibility of officers on our road network.

A system of traffic infringement management which includes a points merit and demerit system, a system of driver re-training and testing after serious crashes or repeat violations will be introduced as a mechanism to deal with lawlessness on our roads and reduce road fatalities. The administrative adjudication of road traffic offences will be piloted in Tshwane in January 2007, which will include the points demerit system.

The Special Investigation Unit will also continue with its investigation of fraudulent drivers' licences to reduce levels of corruption in the testing centres.

While our Road Safety Strategy is an enormous achievement, there is a serious need for radical co-operation by road users to take full responsibility for their actions. The Transport Indaba gives us an opportunity to transform South Africa's driving behaviour once and for all. I hope that the Indaba will allow us to take a long hard look at our national road safety strategy and how we take tough steps to discourage bad driving behaviour.

The Indaba must be an event of commitment. It must be a commitment based on success, results, genuine and sustained improvement of our transport system. I am confident that you have the resolve and the responsibility to accept the challenge I am putting to you today. I believe together we will put in place the improvements which are necessary. That is the challenge for today and that is the outcome I want to see from this Indaba.

Let us also help those who are dragging their feet on our concerted attempts to improve the state of our transport system. I remain hopeful that we can pull them around to a common position. I firmly believe that the only answer is to construct a common agenda. We have a profound choice to make, its either we continue to make modest progress or we must act decisively. Let us put Transport squarely on the agenda. We must make sure that the impact of some of the measures we take over the next two days must be felt during our lifetime.

In conclusion, it is a fact that South Africans will hold us accountable on all the issues I have raised this morning. It is vital that we deliver on these issues, and that we review our strategy and policies at every stage. For me this strikes at the heart of what Transport Indaba means in practise. At its core, modern democracy stands for a safe, reliable and affordable transport system supported by decent service standards as a defining characteristic of our world. That is the real task we have for the two days and the time-scale is urgent.

I thank you for your attention.

Issued by: Department of Transport
22 October 2006

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