The Gauteng provincial government is looking to establish a "centre for transport excellence" in Tshwane similar to those in Singapore and Dubai, says MEC for roads and transport in the province, Ishmael Vadi. Vadi was speaking in Johannesburg on Monday at the release of the Gauteng Household Travel Survey 2014, the second such report released by the province since the year 2000.
A snapshot of the travel patterns
The report, which was compiled by the Council for Scientific and Intellectual Research (CSIR), gives a snapshot of the travel patterns of Gauteng households on public and private transport.
The report found that 48.6% of Gauteng residents use a private car for daily commuting to and from work, followed by 29.3% who use mini-bus taxis, while 11% of commuters walk to work. The use of low capacity transport modes, like private cars and minibus taxis, was a concern for the province as this contributed to congestion on the roads. High capacity modes of transport like buses and trains were not being fully utilised because of a lack of availability, according to the report.
Vadi said while he was pleased that more people were walking to work, this could be because of the cost of travel. In 2014, 55% of Gauteng residents spent 10% or less of their income on public transport, down from 70% in 2000.
Utilising network and research to create centre for transport excellence
Vadi said Tshwane could become an "intellectual hub" for transport innovation in the province because it had the University of Pretoria, the Innovation Hub, CSIR, the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) and the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral), among other institutions.
"We will utilise this network to develop a virtual centre for transport excellence. We will use the research to do scientific work around transport planning," he said.
The report also revealed that the average size of households was 2.94 persons, down from 4.6 persons in the 2000 report. Two-thirds of households did not own a car and households began to own cars at an income of R11,000. The number of households without any employed person had increased since the last report.
The corridor between the City of Ekurhuleni and the City of Johannesburg has the largest inter-municipal travel demand, according to the report.
Member of the mayoral committee of the City of Joburg, Christine Walters, said the report would influence the municipalities transport planning. "The report will give the municipal board guiding lines on how to go forward," Walters said.
Source: BDpro