Chapter 6: Urban transport - a saga of political indecision and lost opportunities

摘要

The major problems for urban transport during the past four decades, namely inadequate funding and the lack of effective and decisive passenger transport authorities in the various metropolitan areas, still persisted up to the turn of the century - with the exception of the then recently constituted eThekwini Public Transport Authority in KwaZulu-Natal. Now, a decade or so after the start of the 21st century, transport authorities have been created in the other major metropolitan areas of South Africa. At the turn of the century all facets of urban transport infrastructure in respect of rail were inadequate, and commuter transport on roads in metropolitan areas continue to be characterised by the gradual demise of the bus industry in favour of kombi taxis and private motor cars using generally heavily congested road systems. 70% of all commuter transport journeys are made by an undisciplined and supposedly, but not defacto, regulated taxi industry, with little or no attempt to coordinate land use and transport planning. The continual growth of separated urban nodes, as opposed to the densification of transport corridors, is also creating a problem for urban transport infrastructure, which will be difficult, if not impossible, to resolve easily. The urban transport infrastructure action which is required as we enter the 21st century is, in broad terms, the speedy implementation in all metropolitan areas of adequately resourced and professionally empowered passenger transport authorities to manage all modes of transport within a specific geographical area. Only in this way is there a possibility for progress - providing an effective urban transport system in this country.