Implementing the bus rapid transit system in Johannesburg - Opportunities to recapitalise the minibus taxi industry

摘要

The presentation will cover the state of the minibus taxi industry in Johannesburg, covering the legislative environment that currently governs the taxi operations; the general planning environment; how the industry is currently organised institutionally, the regulatory environment; as well as law enforcement. The presentation will further look into the initiatives and attempts that have been made by the government, both national and provincial, to regulate and formalise the minibus taxi industry in order to improve the service in general. The presentation will then look into the more radical initiative that the City of Johannesburg itself recently took in the form of the Bus Rapid Transit system to improve public transport in general and most importantly, to use it as an opportunity to recapitalise the taxi fleet and create economic empowerment opportunities for the taxi industry in the public transport sector. The presentation will then briefly touch on the potential risk that may be associated with this BRT initiative and then conclude by giving a sense of where the process is in terms of engaging the taxi industry in this process to plan the City's BRT.