Transport Portfolio Committee, National Assembly

14 August 2002

Palmer Development Group

This report outlines the key issues emerging from a study on the implementation of the National Land Transport Transition Act in the three case-study areas of Cape Town, eThekwini and Amatole District. Although the key issues have been categorised as either outputs (as required by the Act), processes or outcomes, the lack of funding and lack of capacity are dominant issues throughout these three areas. The key issues and recommendations are:

These processes are being hampered due to poor information systems and inaccurate and un-reliable data and there has been slow progress in appointments in terms of the NLTTA. There are also a number of issues in respect of the type of permits and operating licences issued that require clarification. There are also hints at possible corruption and there is a lack of sufficient capacity to monitor and enforce compliance by the operators.

Recommendations focus on the provision of funding to build capacity and regulations to clarify certain issues.

The major concern centres on insufficient funding being currently available to meet the planning requirements arising out of the NLTTA. There is a concern that the statutory plans will create an unfounded liability for the municipalities or Transport Authorities. In addition, capacity at municipal level, and especially within both the Category B and C municipalities, is severely limited with land use and transport planning not integrated. The planning process is plagued by inaccurate data and the planning frequency should be reduced.

Recommendations include the need for dedicated funding, a national capacity building programme and a reduction in the planning frequency.

Output: Transport Authorities

Once again the lack of a sustainable financial framework is a major issue retarding the establishment of Transport Authorities (TAs). The issue as to whether the TA should be established internal or external to the municipality (especially the metros) needs to be re-examined given the possible fragmentation with other departments, increased difficulty with regard to accessing municipal funds and decreased financial protection offered to municipalities under legislation. Lack of capacity in non-metro areas and uncertainty about the division of powers and functions between the Category B and C municipalities are also causes of delay.

Recommendations include the need for a financial framework for TAs and a reconsideration of the options for external or internal TAs.

There are capacity problems in all sectors of the transport industry including operators, enforcement staff, municipal and other statutory bodies or authorities. Capacity in municipalities, although limited, only appears to exist in the former Core Cities and there is a call for more support.

There is poor integration of the different modes with diverse funding streams resulting in an inefficient use of funds. In addition, there are examples of limited co-operation between authorities and poor communication channels between the different spheres of government, often relying on goodwill and personal relationships. Within the municipalities limited integration between municipal land use and transport planning is still evident.

It is recommended that more structured channels of communication be created.

It is evident from the weak links with transport planning in the IDPs, the lack of coordination of stakeholders and the lack of institutional integration that a system of integrated planning is a long way off. Further, the extent to which the industry has moved from supply driven to demand driven is questionable given the manner in which processes are occurring.

There are a number of crucial issues relating to routes that need to be clarified. These include the number of routes and operating licenses that may be allocated per vehicle, the format for route plans and the conflict between enforcement logic and the economics of the industry especially with regard to the less lucrative routes. In addition, there is confusion and a lack of national consistency with regard to the issuing of operating licences and permits. Other key issues relate to the lack of integration between the Registrars and the Licensing Boards, and lack of capacity for enforcement. The recommendations focus on clarifying issues related to routes.

There appears to be a stall in the tendered contract process with a number of hypotheses as to the reasons. Other key issues relate to the high cost of contracts and particularly the current length of contracts being too short for the redemption of capital costs. There are also deficiencies in contract monitoring and limited success in breaking down monopolies and attracting new black business into the industry. Inadequate communication with operators exists and examples of service provision (old and new services) outside the ambit of the Act were encountered.

Recommendations deal with the length of contracts, preventing service provision outside the act and addressing options for black economic empowerment.

There appears to be wide support for rail to fall under the Act and to be devolved to the level of the TA’s. However the current problems of insufficient funding and an under-investment in infrastructure need to be addressed before the TA would take on the responsibility. The vertical split of responsibility; the poor condition of rail infrastructure and the lack of security on trains are seen to be hampering the integration of rail with the other modes. The current break-up of the bus industry is also seen to be acting against integration.

It is recommended that legislation to bring commuter rail under the Act be introduced and improved funding for rail be made available.

Although there is a lack of commuter representative forums, the general conclusion reached is that there has been no overall improvement in the public transport service from the commuter’s perspective. In addition, not enough is being done about provisions for the elderly and people with disabilities even though there appear to be number of successful pilot projects. The recommendation is for improved funding for public transport.

2. INTRODUCTION

This study was commissioned to investigate the progressive implementation of transport planning in terms of the National Land Transport Transition Act (NLTTA) of 2000. The study was conducted by undertaking background research in three case- study areas to identify the key issues relating to implementation. This report presents the key issues emanating from the study and makes a number of recommendations for deliberation by the Transport Portfolio Committee.

1. The NDoT Study

This study was conducted independently from the assessment currently being undertaken by the National Department of Transport (NDoT). It is complementary to the NDoT study in that it focuses on processes and outcomes in addition to outputs required by the NLTTA. The case-study areas were selected with the concurrence of NDoT and there has been co-operation and assistance from the Department in the undertaking of this study.

2. Methodology

Outputs, as defined in this study, relate to structures, processes or plans as required by the NLTTA that have been established or are in the process of being established. These have been grouped as follows:

• Registration and Operating Licences
• Transport Legislation and Planning
• Transport Authorities

Processes, as defined in this study, relate to the integration and interrelationship between the outputs as well as obstacles to their realization. This is considered from the following two perspectives:

• Capacity
• Integration

Outcomes relate to the consequences of the required outputs and processes. Through this, the effect that the implementation of the new legislation has had on the industry and the extent to which the principles of land transport policy as laid out in the NLTTA have resulted in, or laid the groundwork for better planning and integration of transport services is explored. As such, the following themes are considered.

• System of Integrated Planning
• Regulated Taxi Industry
• Restructuring of the Bus Industry
• Integrated Transport System
• Improved Service for the Commuter

1. Structure of the Report

This report is divided into three sections dealing with outputs, processes and outcomes respectively. Each section is decomposed into the number of themes as outlined in the methodology. Key issues relating to these themes are discussed, drawing on the experiences within each of the case-study areas. This allows attention to be focused on the emerging issues rather than the case-study areas. Finally, operational and legislative recommendations are attached for deliberation.

2. Case-study areas

The City of Cape Town Municipality, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and the Amatole District Municipality were selected as the three case-study areas. A brief description of these municipal areas and their public transport systems are provided below.

The City of Cape Town is located within the Western Cape Province, with a land area of 2,487 square kilometres and a population of more than 3,000,000. Although the recent local government demarcation has resulted in a 14% increase in area, this has added primarily agricultural land to the city and has not impacted significantly on the public transport system or the planning thereof.

The former Cape Metropolitan Council, which was amalgamated into the new City of Cape Town, was the designated Core City under the Urban Transport Act and the City currently acts as the planning authority under the NLTTA. Rail provides the backbone of the public transport system in the city moving some 350 000 passengers per day over 443 km of rail between 117 stations. The other major carriers are the some 700 busses covering 800 routes and over 6500 minibus taxis.

The eThekwini Municipal Area (EMA) is located on the eastern seaboard of South Africa within the province of KwaZulu-Natal, covering approximately 2 297 square kilometres and with a population size of approximately 2,750,000. While the total Municipal Area is only 1,4% of the total area of KwaZulu-Natal, just over a third of the population of the province and 60% of its economic activity is concentrated within the EMA. The newly demarcated boundary has increased the boundary of the previous Durban Metropolitan Area by 68% although only increasing the population by 9%. The additional area is generally sparsely settled (50% used for subsistence agriculture, and only 2% under urban settlement), and has comparatively lower levels of service and a poorer population.

The former Durban Metropolitan Municipality was a designated Core City under the Urban Transport Act. There are currently 11 tendered contracts in the Metropolitan area, and 2 services operating under interim contracts. The largest operator is currently Durban Transport with approximately 700 buses. The transport system includes 599 km of rail track with 100 stations and 67 train-sets. The road based transport system includes a total of 1500 buses operating on 1842 bus routes, and 6000 mini-bus taxis operating on 505 routes.

Amatole is a coastal district municipality situated in the eastern mid-section of the Eastern Cape Province with a population size of approximately 1,600,000 and estimated land extent of 23 675 square kilometres. It is the second largest district in the Eastern Cape Province and, although predominately rural in nature, is host to some of the province’s major economic development nodes and corridors (East London IDZ, Fish River and Wild Coast SDI’s). The newly demarcated Buffalo City municipality, which incorporates East London, King William’s Town and surrounding rural area, is the major urban local municipality located within the district with an estimated population size of 888,000.

The former East London Municipality was a Core City under the Urban Transport Act and Buffalo City is designated as a Metropolitan Transport Area. The public transport system within Buffalo City is dominated by minibus taxis, which account for 77% of the passenger trips per day. Rail, used largely as a long distance line haul within the municipality and with restricted potential due to the fact that the rail line runs on the periphery of targeted residential areas, provides 12% of the daily passenger trips, while scheduled and unscheduled busses provide 9% and 2% respectively. In the remainder of the district, public transport is provided predominately by minibus taxis and busses. Particularly in the rural areas, the poor condition of the roads has a negative impact on the condition and roadworthiness of the fleet and LDV type vehicles are being used, which are not safe for passenger carriage.

1. OUTPUTS
1. Registration and Operating Licences
1. Overview

The registration and operating licence process is dealt with in Parts 11,12,17 and 8,9,15,16 of the NLTTA respectively. These parts have been planned to come into effect on different dates for different provinces.

The City of Cape Town Municipality (CCTM)

The Registration process is seen as an ongoing process, with some 150 registered associations. The province intends to appoint Assessors to assist the Registrar, who will be available on a retainer basis.

The Western Cape Provincial Licensing Board (WCOLB) has only recently been established under the NLTTA. The Board was appointed with effect from 15 July 2002, and the first hearings are due to commence on the 5^th of August 2002.

Applications to legalise operators under the Be-Legal campaign were received by the Provincial administration. The applications are to be dealt with as a priority item for the new Board. It is hoped that all of the applications will have been heard by the WCOLB by the end of 2002. In terms of the conversion process, approximately 90% of permits have been converted from area to route-based permits. Conversions from radius-based to route-based permits have been done on a voluntary basis, and the previous board engaged in lengthy negotiations with minibus associations in order to define routes and allocate route numbers. The new Board hopes to convert all permits to operating licenses by the end of 2003.

The WCOLB has raised several concerns with the NLTTA, including the lack of clarity on the role and function of the support staff to the Board. The fact that this is not addressed by the Act is leading to conflict between the Board and the Province.

Another concern centres on the status of an operating license as a use or ownership right. In the event of the death or insolvency of an operator, it is not always clear how the operating license should be dealt with. The Board would like to take the financial situation of the next-of-kin into account. There is currently insufficient attention paid to the issue of transfers and the sale of operating licences (OLs) in the Act. Until this issue is resolved, the Board will find it increasingly difficult to control the supply of public transport services.

The Board has proposed that instead of operators applying for routes on an ad-hoc basis, that the Board could rather advertise routes as they became available either as a result of transport plans, death or insolvency of operators, etc. In the event of a death, the next-of–kin may be given first preference, but only if this does not affect the interests of passengers.

The Board was also concerned about the lack of attention paid to the transport of farm-workers, and indeed to any employees by an employer. It is felt that this neglect constitutes a serious weakness on the part of the Act, and reflects the lack of emphasis on public transport as a social service. The manner in which farm workers are being transported is of great concern, from both a safety and dignity point of view. The WCOLB believes that this weakness appears to be carried over from previous apartheid-era legislation. At a minimum it is felt that the Act should impose guidelines regarding safety.

The Act fails to cater for the different needs of metered taxis and tourism services. The seasonal demand for tourism services can result in the illegal use of vehicles between peak periods.

Generally it is felt that the NLTTA is a very complex document that needs to be made more accessible and user-friendly. Although examples were not supplied, the Board finds the Act to be inconsistent. They have requested that changes to the legislation should involve a full participation process including people involved with operations on a daily basis. The fact that the NLLTA does not deal directly with the procedures for public hearings and has to refer to the previous legislation is also something that needs to be addressed.

 

 

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (EMM)

A new Registrar has yet to be appointed, following the end of the previous Registrar’s contract. A Provincial Operating License Board (KZNOLB) has been appointed under the NLTTA.

According to the KZN Interim Bus & Taxi Act, September 1999 was the closing date for taxi operators to register. However new operators have emerged since then, with some having left the industry, some invited in by associations and some being "illegal" operators. KZN is therefore currently involved in a special Clean-Up/Legalisation process, in order to assess the number of operators who have still not registered. Taxi Associations have been asked to identify their non-registered members, and their reasons for not being registered. The commission will then make recommendations to the KZN Board about who should be issued licenses. This process was initiated by the taxi industry, and is seen as the precursor to beginning enforcement (hopefully by September, although this is not a hard deadline). The clean-up process will provide for the removal of non-existent vehicles from the Register, and allow other operators to register.

It is hoped that this process, which is fully supported by the industry, will begin to address the overtrading problem. Once the number of illegal versus legal operators has been established, the actual size of the problem can be determined. Once an Operating Licence Strategy (OLS) is in place, compensation will be required in order to remove excess licenses.

There are currently 250 associations registered in the province, 204 of which have been referred to the Board for legitimisation.

There is currently no real integration between the Registrar and the Board. The relationship is informal and fragmented. The Board requires access to the Registrar’s information files, but the registers are not up to date, and are in an incompatible format. The taxi associations are not updating their lists with the Registrar, which has contributed to the need for the clean-up process.

According to the Board’s interpretation of the Act, operating licenses can only be issued after October 2004 (See Section 31). Till then, they will be converting the existing radius-based and area-based permits to route-based permits. The form for operators to apply for conversion of a permit to an Operating License is still not available. The conversion process still requires clarity.

In the absence of an OLS, the Board relies on recommendations from the municipality, and the principles contained within the NLTTA. However, the Board feels constrained in their current ability to refuse applications that do not meet all the requirements, as they do not want to discourage people from applying. To date not one association has submitted properly detailed route plans. However, with provincial intervention, they are now issuing permits without full route descriptions, which are only valid for 6 months, after which time the permit holder is expected to supply a full route description. There has been limited compliance with this, although the 6-month period has now elapsed.

The Board feels that the provincial department should be more proactive, and help associations to map out the routes in the detail required.

Associations currently register routes for all their operators, although the Board is meant to only issue permits to individual operators. Allocating specific routes to specific operators is problematic, as some routes are more lucrative than others. The Board would like clearer legislation that only certain operators can operate certain routes, in order to support their decisions. The current situation with many operators operating on the same route results in conflict and overtrading on popular routes. A suggestion is that associations bid for routes.

In the case of inter-provincial licenses, the operator is expected to apply to the Board where the association is based. The Board is then expected to refer to the destination Board. It is currently unclear who should inform the authorities.

There is also a lack of agreement between boards on how to operate. For example, the Free State Board has just submitted radius-based permits to the KZN Board for some of their inter-provincial services. There should be regular forums for provincial boards to meet to agree on and workshop policies. The KZN Board has proposed a national workshop for all board members, to ensure that they are all working the same way.

There is also uncertainty regarding the approval of new routes. The Board is currently accepting only new routes linked to new developments, but not other new routes.

Amatole District Municipality (ADM)

The deputy Public Transport Director in the Eastern Cape Provincial Administration (PAEC) is currently the appointed Taxi Registrar in term of the Eastern Cape Passenger Transportation (Interim Provisions) Act 11 of 1999. His section is responsible for the registration and issuing of operating licences and permits in ADM through the satellite Registrar’s and Permit Board offices located in East London.

The Registrar in the East London office is responsible for managing taxi registrations, the Be-Legal Campaign and public transport liaison with taxi operators but is not an appointed registrar in terms of the NLTTA. He currently provides support to the East London Permit Board in terms of confirming registration of associations (approximately 11 associations are registered in ADM) prior to permits being issued. There is limited capacity in the office with no budget for institutional capacity building. In addition the databases and computer systems of the Registrar’s office and the Permit Board office are not compatible and data is inaccurate and not reliable. The NDoT has however undertaken to install new software at the Permit Board office and the office of the Registrar by the end of August 2002.

The East London Permit Board office operates as a permit board in terms of Provincial Act 11 of 1999 and has not yet been converted to an operating licensing board. The Permit Board currently issues public road carrier permits although route-based operating licences (valid for two years) are being issued as part of the Be-legal Campaign. It appears that only once the department has completed the Be-legal Campaign will the date for the conversion from carrier permits to operating licences be promulgated. Although not without problems, the Be-Legal campaign has been widely accepted by the taxi industry in ADM where the taxi associations have organized themselves into a taxi council. It is suspected that the process is open to corruption in that some associations may be verifying operators as members for a fee.

In addition to the problem of inaccurate data, the entire process related to the specification of routes appears flawed. Firstly, the routes specified on the applications bear no resemblance to those in the Current Public Transport Record (CPTR) or to the routes that are actually operated. Although there have been attempts to assist in the description of routes, capacity is limited given the number of applications. In addition, five local routes and three long-distance routes can be specified on each operating licence. Yet the nature of the route description allows the vehicle to operate on far more routes than just these. For example a route specified as East London to Johannesburg via Umtata allows the vehicle to operate on three routes from East London to Umtata, East London to Johannesburg and Umtata to Johannesburg rather than on only one route.

Lastly there is the lack of sufficient personnel to monitor and enforce compliance. The Provincial Traffic Department assists but, as it has no inspectors, it depends on traffic control officers who are not properly trained to monitor taxi permits. Although 16 inspector posts have been identified, it appears these will only be filled once the restructuring of the Provincial Department is completed. It is not clear when this will occur.

2. Key Issues

• Lack of sufficient capacity to monitor and enforce compliance by operators.

• Poor information systems and inaccurate and un-reliable data.

• Slow progress in appointments in terms of the NLTTA.

• Type of permits and operating licences issued.

• Possible corruption.

• Lack of clarity regarding status of operating license as conferring use or ownership rights.

• Inadequate attention is paid to the transport of farm-workers and other employees by their employers.

1. Operational Recommendations

• NDoT to assist with specifications/regulations for information systems, route descriptions, processes for the issuing and conversion of permits to operating licences and to set and monitor timeframes.
• Funds are directed towards enforcement. An appropriate mechanism will have to be found, as enforcement is the competency of either the provinces or the municipalities.
• NDoT to provide for workshops/forums for operating licence boards to agree on common policies and procedures, and to eliminate misunderstandings.

1. Legislative Recommendations

• The ambiguity around validity dates for operating licences in Section 31(1) should be clarified.
• The status of operating license as a use right that cedes back to the Board in the event of insolvency, death, "suitcase permits" etc. needs to be clarified.
• Commuters in rural areas, farm-workers and other employees need to be protected from unsafe transport conditions through the setting of safety standards.

1. Transport Legislation and Planning
1. Overview

Part 7 of the NLTTA, which deals with transport planning, came into effect on 1 June 2002. The National Land Transport Strategic Framework (NLTSF) has been completed and

regulations and requirements for Provincial Land Transport Frameworks (PLTFs) and Current Public Transport Records (CPTRs) have been published in draft form after the culmination of a process of consultation with the provinces. The date recommended for the finalization of PLTFs and CPTRs is the 31 December 2002.

The City of Cape Town Municipality (CCTM)

Cape Town began work on their Public Transport Restructuring Plan in 1999, but the process stalled after funding for this process from the NDoT dried up. There was a tripartite agreement between NDoT, PAWC and the City that national would provide 80% of the funding, with province and the city providing 10% each. There is currently no clarity on the funding of statutory plans.

The current CPTR was completed in 2000 under the previous format. The City is currently in the process of updating this data in order to meet the requirements of the new CPTR format. The Board has expressed concern about the reliability of the data used by the planning authorities, which they feel is biased towards peak commuters, and based on anecdotal evidence. As the OLS regulations have not been finalised, Cape Town has prepared an Interim OLS, which still needs to be approved by the MEC.

Transport plans in the province are occurring concurrently, and therefore in a vacuum, with the NLTSF, the PLTF, Integrated Transport Plans (ITP) and Provincial Transport Plans (PTP) all being prepared at the same time. The proper links between these plans will only be possible on subsequent rounds.

The Cape Town ITP is expected to be completed by the end of 2002, but in the absence of national regulations, it will only be an interim ITP.

The Provincial department is currently circulating a draft Provincial Planning Vision for Public Transport. This document identifies eight key requirements to meet the provincial vision for public transport. These lead to 22 delivery programmes, some of which are already in the first stages of implementation. They are currently in the process of appointing a consortium of consultants to complete the PLTF by the end of March 2003. The Provincial Vision will be an important input to the PLTF.

The Steering Group of the operational component of the Public Transport Restructuring Process undertaken by they City included operators from the rail, bus and taxi sectors. However, the taxi leadership has changed since then, so it is unclear how much support the policy has from the taxi sector. Despite the involvement of the bus operator on the Steering Committee, there is a great deal of tension on the part of the operators, who do not feel that their operational expertise is drawn on enough. Ways must be found of using their experience to improve the public transport network, without giving incumbents an unfair advantage in the tender process.

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (EMM)

The KZN draft PLTF was published in December 2001, but they are currently in the process of amending the document and adding three additional chapters regarding funding issues. They are looking at different policy options, as the current funding levels from Treasury is not sufficient. Once these chapters are complete, they will begin a process of consultation.

The CPTR takes at least a year to collect and process the data, and EMM has proposed that the planning cycle be increased to 3 years. The last CPTR was done two to three years ago, and now needs to be revised.

There is currently no OLS in place, but the first OLS will contain the principles regarding how applications should be processed. EMM feels that the Taxi Registration process must be complete before the OLS can be completed. They need to know how many legal operators there are, in order to determine which routes are overtraded. However, the Board believes that the EMM should assess what services are needed – i.e. they should first determine the demand before addressing the supply of public transport services. It is thus possible that the OLS will be completed before the CPTR and this will allow the Board to allocate operators according to the demand for services.

The statutory plans are viewed as an unfunded mandate, as they are required by the legislation, costly to complete, and yet no funding streams have been committed for this purpose. EMM has estimated the total cost of the annual planning cycle at R5- million.

Amatole District Municipality (ADM)

At the Provincial level, the Provincial Department of Transport has completed the final draft of the Provincial Land Transport Framework (PLTF) for consultation and discussion.

Apart from Buffalo City, which is a recognised Metropolitan Transport Area, it is not clear if the category B or C municipalities would fulfil the role of the Planning Authority. The PLTF does not assist in that it states that in terms of the NLTTA all local authorities in the Eastern Cape are to be considered as Planning Authorities (PAs). The current reality is that the Province (PAEC) is playing this role largely due to the lack of capacity existing in the municipalities. Lack of capacity however has not stopped criticism of the province for undertaking what is seen as a municipal function. Continued uncertainty with regard to which municipalities will be designated PAs will further delay the building of the necessary capacity.

PAEC has tendered for consultants to compile CPTRs in the Districts to be completed by year-end. The intention is then to integrate all the District CPTRs. Buffalo City, which has a CPTR and OLS based on the old format, will be updating the plans in terms of the new format, but have raised concerns regarding the frequency of updates. With a limited permanent staff of two and funding constraints they believe it is not feasible to update the plans on an annual basis even though they are a focus of a pilot study with PAEC and NDoT.

2. Key issues

• Lack of sufficient funding

• Inaccurate Data

• Capacity constraints within both the Category B and C municipalities.

• Too high planning frequency

1. Operational Recommendations

• Dedicated funding for planning requirements is required. This may be considerable given the under-investment in transport over the last decade.
• A national capacity building and support programme to build local capacity should be implemented in more than a number of pilot sites (this should include support for newly established Transport Authorities).

1. Legislative Recommendations

• The length of planning cycle should be increased to a maximum of 3 years.

1. Transport Authorities
1. Overview

The City of Cape Town Municipality (CCTM)

The establishment of a Transport Authority (TA) is a strategic objective for the City, but the nature of the TA and its relationship with the province has yet to be worked out.

The main problems with the formation of a TA in Cape Town have revolved around the allocation of powers and funding, and the lack of a financial framework. There is also a belief that the TA model in the Act has been overtaken by local government restructuring, with the area of the TA mirroring the Metro area. The purpose for the TA has largely fallen away, as co-ordination can now occur within the Metropolitan Transport Planning Department. The TA is defined as consisting of councillors, and there are concerns that this will simply lead to conflict with the existing Transport Committee. Similarly, it is feared that the removal of the transport function from the municipality will result in greater competition for IDP funds, and reduced integration with other municipal departments.

The issue of funding will determine if the TA is located inside or outside council. If funded by the city it will be internal, but if sustainable outside funding sources are provided, it may be external. There is a concern that in order to compete for IDP funding, the TA and Transport Executive (TE) will have to be internal to council. If the function is taken out of the city, the resulting tensions between the city and the TA will make budgeting under the IDP very difficult.

The need for the TA to approve land-use changes will also lead to conflict if this is an outside body. In order to be effective, the TA will need to be close to the City Executive.

While bus, rail and taxi locations are located at different levels of government, vertical integration could be promoted by changing the composition of the TA to provide for local, provincial and national representation, until such time as all public transport functions have been devolved to the TA.

In order to be effective it is felt that the TA must combine both the relevant funding streams and decision-making powers.

eThekwini Municipality (EMM)

In 1999 the NDoT, the then Durban Metro Council and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport initiated a pilot project to investigate the establishment and the implications of setting up a TA in the area. This project was completed in 2002, along with a Public Transport System Implementation Framework, which addresses the required restructuring of the public transport system.

At an early stage is was decided to make the TA boundary coincide with that of the metro area, in order to streamline governance and representation and reduce fragmentation of transport functions between different authorities, which is one of the prime arguments in favour of a TA.

Their main reservations regarding the establishment of a TA concern the unfunded mandates and the lack of a sustainable funding source, and the danger of horizontal fragmentation, with the TA fragmenting the transport function from other municipal functions. The TE should preferably be a department of council, in order to allow for integration between departments, and to allow for integrated budgeting and IDP processes. In principle, this has been agreed to by council, but there is no formal agreement as such.

Problematic sections, which have been brought to the attention of the amendment committee of the NDoT study, includes Sect 10(13), which states that a TA must perform the functions mentioned in 10(13)(a) to (f), "as well as those assigned to it by provincial laws." There is a concern that this could result in unfunded mandates, especially as the TA, as a separate juristic person, does not have the same protection as a municipality under the constitution with regard to unfunded mandates. The municipality is concerned that Sect 15(1)(b), which states that the ‘Minister may….make moneys available to provinces, municipalities or transport authorities to assist them in performing their functions in terms of this Act or replacing provincial laws’, implies a discretionary power, and is not a legal obligation to provide funding.

An amendment to the current legislation is required before eThekwini Municipality will proceed with the establishment of a TA.

Amatole District Municipality (ADM)

An investigation into the implications of ADM becoming a TA has been identified as a component of an organisational restructuring project flowing out of the 2002 IDP. This would exclude the Buffalo City area, which is part of an NDoT funded demonstration project, which is looking into the establishment of a TA for Buffalo City.

PAEC has identified the establishment of a provincial framework for the creation of TAs and the development of policy guidelines for the establishment of TAs and Rural Transport Authorities (RTAs) as short-term actions. Consultation with local authorities and, financial and technical support to newly established TAs, has been identified for medium term action.

2. Key Issues

• Lack of a sustainable financial framework

• Need for clarification

• Autonomy of TA particularly in metros

• Lack of capacity in non-metro & secondary cities

• Possible unfunded mandates under Section 10(13)

1. Operational Recommendations

• A financial framework for TAs needs to be developed with sufficient sources of funding identified. The national funding requirement needs to be quantified.
• A national capacity building and support programme as per 2.2.3.

1. Legislative Recommendations

• Reconsider the options for external or internal TAs in light of the financial and other risks and legislative options to remove the risks.

• There are no additional recommendations to those made that are made in the Section 2 - Outputs component of this report.

1. Integration
1. Limited Co-operation

In the City of Cape Town there is limited co-operation and communication between the City and the Provincial Authorities, and extremely limited consultation with operators. The relationship was described by one stakeholder as institutional warfare.

The recently elected Western Cape Taxi Council has approached the MEC for a list of committees that they should attend, but have yet to be informed of any forums where they should be involved. Engagement with the planning authorities tends to be a sporadic affair, with no avenues for formal, regular interaction. They feel that for real integration between the modes to be achieved, there must be regular integration and communication. A strong, integrated TA cannot be created in one step.

Modalink in the Western Cape is currently the only link between the different role-players. However, their autonomy is currently viewed with suspicion by politicians and operators alike, with the taxi industry viewing them as an agent of the city. This may be linked to the lack of independent funding sources.

2. Limited integration between municipal land use and transport planning

This is evidenced in the spatial component of the municipality’s Integrated Development Plans (IDP’s). In terms of planning, integration remains weak, with IDP’s consisting of line-function plans which have been merged into one document. Institutionally, land use and transport planning remain separated.

The exception is eThekwini where there has been a creation of multi-departmental working groups. The Spatial Theme Group, an interim body that no longer exists, helped to integrate land use and transport planning within EMM. However there is generally good integration between the transport and spatial planning departments, with transport nodes from the Traffic & Transportation plans having been adopted as nodes in the Spatial Development Framework. The existence of the Urban Development Group also goes a long way towards promoting policy and planning integration in eThekwini.

Even where fairly good integration exists between spatial planning and transport planning, land-use legislation is weak, and development is still occurring in the wrong places.

It is hoped that the TA will eventually achieve vertical integration, dealing with all the different modes of transport, while horizontal integration will be dealt with through the introduction of appropriate systems. The TA should be structured in such a way as to facilitate the integration of land use and transport planning.

3. Poor integration of the different modes results in an inefficient use of funds

A fundamental restructuring of the public transport system in all the case-study areas is required, in order to integrate the diverse funding streams, which currently results in an inefficient use of funds. Overall levels of efficiency need to be improved. EThekwini has found that the public transport system as a whole is in decline, with rail facing possible closure in 15 years. The City of Cape Town is facing a similar situation.

4. Poor communication channels between the different spheres of government.

Communication between the different spheres of government needs to be improved. The Land Transport Co-ordinating Committee, the only forum for local government to engage with both the NDOT and provincial departments, was disbanded in 2000. Provinces were meant to communicate national policy and information to municipalities, but this has not worked in all provinces, and the Land Transport Committee is apparently being reconstituted.

The Western Cape has a Transport ProvTech, chaired by the MEC and including representatives from local authorities. In KZN there is no formal forum for local municipalities to meet with the provincial authorities, although there are informally good relations between them. Interaction occurs on a one-to-one basis.

5. General Recommendations

• Current levels of communication between provincial and local governments seem to rely on goodwill and personal relationships rather than any formal structures. There is a need to create forums for the different spheres to communicate.

1. OUTCOMES
1. System of Integrated Planning
1. Transport links in IDPs

The Integrated Transport Plan (ITP) should be a component of the IDP. In the three case-study areas, the reference to ITPs and the extent to which transport is featured within the spatial framework component of the IDP was examined. The general findings of this examination are:

• Reference to transport is stronger in the IDP’s of former Core Cities where capacity exists.
• The division between land use and transport planning is evident.
• The institutional location of the Transport Planning division influences the location of transport in the IDP (under infrastructure or social need).

1. Lack of coordination of stakeholders

There is a general lack of coordination between the different spheres of government, and between the operators and the authorities. Existing operational experience is not being utilized where appropriate, leading to transport plans and tenders which are unacceptable to operators.

2. Institutional war

There are concerns that the NLTTA has done little to achieve institutional integration, and in fact has created more divisions in the industry. This view is of particular relevance in the Western Cape, where the Act has been used as the basis for two legal challenges between operators and the authorities.

3. Demand driven

The extent to which the industry has moved from supply driven to demand driven is questionable. The current system of operators applying for operating licenses on an ad-hoc basis could perhaps be replaced by a system of advertising for applications as the need for new operators on specific routes arises. This will require that information systems are compatible and well maintained, and that an OLS is in place.

4. Frequency of plans

Concerns have been raised in all study areas about the frequency of plans, given the length of time required to update the CPTR. Both eThekwini and CCT have indicated that 3 years would be a more realistic planning cycle, with Buffalo City in support.

5. General Recommendations

• There are no additional recommendations to those made in the Section 2 Outputs component of this report.

1. Regulated Taxi industry
1. Registration of operators

There is currently no real integration between the Registrars and the Licensing Boards. The relationship is informal and fragmented and databases are not compatible.

2. Routes

There is a need for greater clarity regarding the number of routes and operating licenses that may be allocated per vehicle. It would be useful to unpack the logic behind the current system. In KZN the current route-based permits provide for up to three routes per vehicle, while in the Western Cape one vehicle can be used on more than one route, as supported by the license regulations application form, which places no restriction on the number of routes per vehicle: Additional vehicles may also be added if they are to be used on the same routes. One unintended consequence may be that the lack of clear responsibility for serving less lucrative routes will allow operators to focus on more lucrative routes, to the detriment of passengers using less lucrative routes.

The Be Legal campaign in KZN required that one vehicle be allocated to one route, in order to aid enforcement. Operational compromises have allowed for vehicles to be used on more than one route. (In KZN three routes are allowed and in Buffalo City five local and three long distance routes are allowed). Economically, some routes will always be more lucrative than others, and associations therefore like to share these routes, to allow for cross-subsidies between the various routes. To minimise conflict, the associations operate the routes on a rotational basis. There is a clash between the enforcement logic and the economics of the industry. An alternative would be to form taxi companies, and this option is currently being explored and promoted within the KZN industry.

Associations currently register routes for all their operators, although the Board is meant to only issue permits to individual operators. Allocating specific routes to specific operators is problematic, as some routes are more lucrative than others. A suggestion is that associations bid for routes. There is a fundamental dichotomy between associations and operators – as the operator is awarded a licence / permit, the association shouldn’t have control over the routes. This limits freedom of association.

The WCOLB is of the opinion that the arguments in favour of authorising a network of routes relate to the provision of services on un-lucrative routes and these routes may not be operated if they are not included as part of the network. It was pointed out that these services are generally being provided by unsubsidised modes and it was suggested that the operation of unprofitable routes needs to be subjected to more in depth investigation.

Properly detailed route plans are not submitted. Technically these applications should be rejected, but is concerned that this will act as a disincentive. In KZN, with provincial intervention, they are now issuing permits without full route descriptions, which are only valid for 6 months, after which time the permit holder is expected to supply a full route description. There has been limited compliance with this, although the 6-month period has now elapsed. There is the view that the provincial departments should be more proactive, and help associations to map out the routes.

There needs to be more codes of conduct. The associations should be audited, and have independent finances. The current lack of transparency is a key cause of conflict.

3. Operating Licences vs. Permits

According to the KZN Board’s interpretation of the Act, operating licenses can only be issued after October 2004. Until then, they will be converting the existing radius-based permits to route-based permits. This differs from the view of the WCOLB, which will commence with the conversion of route-based permits to OLs from August 2002.

4. Enforcement and Corruption

The Special Clean-up process initiated by the KZN Taxi Industry is intended to facilitate enforcement once it is completed. However, the current lack of capacity to ensure enforcement is a major concern.

In terms of enforcement in KZN, buses are still viewed as belonging to the same institution as the metro police (the municipality), and the police are seen as biased to their ‘own’ organisation. Buses are therefore still perceived to have an unfair advantage with regards to enforcement, and to be favoured in terms of receiving better infrastructure. Taxis are allocated too little space, increasing their unattractiveness, and contributing to the unfair advantage of the bus industry. Government is expected to show more commitment in terms of providing equal opportunities to both modes.

The current structure of the taxi industry that allows for fees of up to R40 000 to join an association, without the corresponding need for transparent accounting practices, provides an incentive for associations and the number of operators to continue to grow.

The WCOLB members would like to see an enforcement group attached to the Board. This enforcement group would assist in dealing with complaints about matters such as bad driving and, if necessary, would assist the Board in initiating Section 25 proceedings in this respect. This group would need to liase very closely with the WCOLB and Registrar and the mechanisms for managing these relationships would need to be clearly defined. It is important that the Board should be able to instruct the group to undertake a particular task.

The WCOLB expressed concern that, while the Act provided for extensive interaction with municipalities around transport plans, their experience has been that the information that is provided is often questionable. It was suggested that, when the need arose, the Board should be able to use the enforcement group to obtain an independent assessment.

5. General Recommendations

• The potential conflict between the registration of associations, and the allocation of licenses to individual operators needs to be investigated further.

1. Legislative Recommendations

• There are a number of issues relating to routes (allocation to associations, transfer, etc) that should be clarified.
• There is a need for greater clarity concerning the allocation of operating licenses to vehicles and routes, and the logic behind the different alternatives (eg. enforcement versus economics).

1. Restructuring of the Bus Industry
1. Stall in tendered contract process

There is a widespread impression that the tender process has stalled due to disputes over the tender process, originating both from operators and labour, and due to a lack of financial resources within NDOT itself.

The South African Bus Employers Association (SABEA) had reached an agreement on how people would be treated through the restructuring process, and that road transport minimums would apply. However new contractors do not belong to SABEA, and are not bound by this agreement. As a result, they are frequently competing on the basis of a very low wage bill.

The tender process in the Western Cape province was halted due to a court case brought by GABS on the grounds that the required statutory plans were not yet in place. The tender documents were also seen to contain operational errors, as they were developed without input from the industry. Bus contracts and the extension of the interim negotiated contracts are currently being negotiated between NDOT and GABS, excluding both the PAWC and the City. According to their new document, "Provincial vision for public transport and 5 year strategic delivery programme", the province has undertaken to engage with the city on the design of the new bus contracts, but the extent of this engagement has not been clarified. The city is hoping for the maximum possible engagement, in the event that the bus function is devolved to them in the future.

2. Cost of Contracts

From the operational side, the escalation clause is not working properly, and will result in contract costs increasing at a faster rate than the contract payments. For this reason the operators would not like to see the contract period increased, as this would lead to even greater losses over the contract period. Alternately the escalation clause should be redesigned.

However labour would like to see the contract period increased to international averages, both in order to provide greater job security, and to allow capital repayments to be made over a longer period. Labour is also concerned that wages are being squeezed in an attempt to lower costs, and they would like minimum wage agreements to be apply to all tenders.

Operators view the cost of capital to improve the fleet age as too high over the current contract period. Unless the contract period is extended, the cost of re-capitalization of the fleet is going to remain excessive and increase the cost of the contract.

3. Deficiencies in Contract monitoring

There is currently no system for monitoring contracts, but a monitoring company is expected to be established in the Western Cape within the next 2 months. In some cases the cost of monitoring is seen as disproportionably high compared to the cost of the contract and as currently envisaged is merely increasing the cost of the contract.

4. Service Provision Outside NLTTA

Bus services are provided in ADM on a permit basis only with no formal contract between the operator and province. This appears to be the legacy arising from decisions relating to the provision of a municipal bus service on a commercial basis without any external subsidy. The re-capitalization costs of bringing this service under the NLTTA are going to be prohibitive.

The inner city bus service in CCTM is being introduced outside the NLTTA as a pilot project under the Municipal Structures Act. One of the motivations given for this approach is that higher costs (largely the funding of capital) will occur if it is introduced under the NLTTA.

Both of these examples illustrate that it is possible to skirt the NLTTA and the cost of capital as outlined in 4.2.3 needs to be addressed.

5. Black Economic Empowerment BEE

Although it is generally accepted that BEE is one of the objectives of the legislation, there has been only limited breakdown of existing monopolies. There is a lack of potential investors with appropriate operational experience and the low returns in the industry make it an unattractive industry for investors. Generally only taxi or long-distance operators have come forward, both lacking operational experience in the bus industry. Views have been expressed that negotiated contracts should be used for building empowerment and transferring skills. This approach is viewed as less costly to the State as it minimises the risk of financial failure of new operators.

6. Communication with operators

Bus operators are part of the public transport industry and as such their intellectual capital (knowledge, expertise) needs to be used in the planning processes. Lack of communication does not allow the full utilization. This is particularly problematic in CCTM, where the operator is not involved in any public transport process.

7. General Recommendations

• The term of bus contracts should be increased from 3 years to at least 7 years.
• New mechanisms for contract monitoring need to be explored.
• Legislation to prevent services from being provided outside the NLTTA need to be introduced together with measures that address the causes that are leading to the bypass.
• Other options to ensure sustainable BEE in the industry need to be addressed.
• Greater recognition needs to be given to the role that operators can play and more consultative processes need to be introduced.

1. Integrated Transport System
1. Rail

There is a general agreement in both CCT and EThekwini that Rail must be the backbone of the public transport system. However this mode is not addressed by the Act, and has yet to be devolved. All stakeholders in both municipalities believe that integrated transport planning cannot occur without the devolution of the function to the level of the TA’s. The Western Cape Provincial Authorities believe that devolution should occur on an incremental basis, beginning with the devolution of management processes.

However, the TA’s would not accept the rail function until the funding issues have been resolved. Currently insufficient funding from the South African Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC) for security and maintenance is seen as the major issue. High levels of vandalism and low levels of funding are resulting in a rapid deterioration of infrastructure and rolling stock. This is echoed by the COSATU campaign against poor security and service standards on Metrorail in Cape Town. There are also concerns that unless the current under-investment is addressed, it could lead to the closure of the railways in both cities over the medium term.

2. Modal Integration

Integration of the different modes is currently hampered by the vertical split of responsibility, and by the poor condition of rail infrastructure in particular.

The WC province is hoping to integrate buses and taxis through the use of negotiated contracts. However the form of these contracts is still being negotiated between SABOA and NDoT, excluding both the Province and the City. According to the Provinces draft vision for public transport, they intend to engage with the city regarding the design of new bus contracts. However the extent of this interaction has not been clarified.

According to section 4(1)(b), transport infrastructure and facilities must be so provided and developed as to integrate the different modes of land transport. However there are still divisions between buses and taxi’s, with the taxi industry perception that they are provided with insufficient space, and that buses are still seen as the preferred mode.

In EThekwini, there are agreements between the buses and taxis, in areas such as the Durban inner city circle, over how to operate and fares. Although the long-term plan is to use rail as the backbone of the system, EMM will not proceed with rail integration until the rail stock has been improved, as they are reluctant to transfer passengers to what is currently an unsafe mode. They also plan to integrate taxis into the transport system as a feeder system to rail, but only once the rail situation has been improved. Until then the EMM will be focussing on building relationships with the taxi industry, and to this end they have introduced courses to build capacity within the taxi industry.

There are concerns that the current break-up of the bus industry is retarding the promotion of intermodality, by increasing the number of actors in the industry, making integration of routes, timetables and fares more problematic. There are concerns that consumers will end up paying more, or government subsidising more, as the costs increase.

3. Security

Security on trains is seen as a major problem although opinion differs as to whether it is affecting the choice of mode. Although there has been an increase in the number of security personnel contracted by Metrorail in Cape Town it has not been able to counter-balance the increase in crime and vandalism. Once again insufficient funding by SARCC for security is seen as the core issue.

It has been recommended that security personnel on trains might also assist passengers including those with special needs. Security arrangements should extend to bicycles and cars in parking areas, in order to promote park & ride schemes.

4. General Recommendations

• Legislation to bring commuter rail under the Act and under the TAs should be introduced.
• Improved funding for commuter rail needs to be sourced.

1. Improved Service for the commuter
1. Lack of Commuter representative forums

Soliciting the views of commuters has been difficult as no commuter representative forums were found to exist. A commuter perspective has thus been constructed based on interviews with organisations that would represent commuters and an analysis of the queries to the Metro-Trans-Info call centre in Cape Town.

2. Provisions for the elderly / people with disabilities

The WCOLB has expressed concern about it being some time before plans for the elderly or people with disabilities are implemented. In the interim something might be done to deal with some of the more urgent needs.

It appears that the focus of the Dial-a-ride scheme is on getting people to work and it was felt that the importance of other trip purposes must be recognised. Dial-a-ride currently only have 3 vehicles and it appears that these are not always available as a result of mechanical breakdowns. It is understood that requests from 50 – 60 people are turned down on a daily basis. The needs of persons outside of the CMA should also be provided for.

3. No overall improvement

Although there appears to be improvements in certain areas (pilot projects, reduction in level of taxi violence) this is counterbalanced by deterioration in other areas (safety, infrastructure and rolling stock). In many respects this is attributable to insufficient levels of funding for public transport as a whole and delays largely due to limited capacity.

4. General Recommendations

• Improved funding for public transport be sourced from the national fiscus.

2. Appendix A

O= outstanding

Y= interview concluded