I. Main strategic areas

Over the 5-year term of the Transport Portfolio Committee, the following are the main broad strategic areas in which the PC will be active:

• Public transport - contributing to a significant improvement in the accessibility, affordability and safety of public transport. This will be the main strategic priority of the PC over the 5-year term
• Freight logistics - the PC will engage with this strategic area with a view to contributing to a significant improvement in the capacity, effectiveness and efficiency of our freight logistics systems (air, maritime, ports, road, rail) in their national, regional and global economic contexts
• Transport safety and enforcement - in this respect, the PC will prioritise road traffic safety, but will also engage with other transport modes and the relevant regulatory and safety institutions and measures. As a related issue, the PC will also engage actively with the challenge of transforming the Road Accident Fund.
• Job creation, labour intensity, training and broad-based black economic empowerment in the transport sector -

2-Proposed activities in the four main strategic areas

2.1 Public transport

2.1.1 Policy assessment and development -

• the PC will engage with the DoT, and a wide range of stake-holders, research institutions and international experience in order to assess and help develop public transport policy.
• hearings will be held on the National Travel Survey – to assess patterns of household commuting and transport needs
• the current public transport subsidy polices will be reviewed
• the role of different spheres of government in public transport planning, subsidisation and regulation will be assessed with a view to achieving better alignments

• the PC will conduct hearings with DoT and key stakeholder to assess feasibility of current plan, and to contribute to reformulation
• the PC will seek to ensure that the key stake-holders consult among themselves adequately and that correct lessons are drawn from challenges experienced
• the PC will endeavour to ensure alignment of taxi recap measures with an overall and inter-modal strategic approach to public transport transformation
• the PC will engage SALGA to assess the capacity and potential contribution of local government to play a key role in local level taxi transformation

• the PC will undertake oversight work to assess the effectiveness of current regulatory and subsidy measures and legislation, and the capacity of local government to implement these and other measures.
• the PC will assess the progress made in and the impact of BEE measures in the bus sector
• the PC will hold hearings on international experience in using bus rapid transit systems as the back-bone of urban public transport in third world cities
• the PC will conduct a study tour of a relevant third world city where best practice experience can be garnered in this regard
• the PC will study buses and their role in inter-modality

2.1.4 Commuter rail

• the PC will monitor the institutional transformation of this sector
• the PC will do oversight work, engaging with commuters and workers and management on the

commuter rail systems.

2.1.5 Rural public transport and other special needs

• the PC will conduct hearings and oversight work regarding rural public transport, student transport, the mobility needs of the disabled and other special concerns, the role of non-motorised transport, and the challenges facing pedestrians

2.1.6 Financing of public transport

• the PC will consider the challenge of Financing more effective and efficient and accessible public transport - through subsidies, through more effective spatial planning, and through the possibility of other measures for instance, taxing of private transport to support and

encourage public transport use.

• The National Land Transport Transitional Act (2000) will need to be assessed in the light of all of the above, and will require significant amendments.

• The PC will develop a substantial report to parliament on all of the above by mid-2005. We will seek to secure a debate in the House on our findings and recommendations.
• The PC will encourage the convening of a national public transport sectoral summit in the first half of 2005 the NLTTA should be amended and extended by the end of 2005

2.1.8 The 2010 World Cup Soccer and public transport

• The PC will monitor transport-related preparations for 2010 in an ongoing way.

Time-frame - an interim progress report will be submitted to parliament before the end of 2007

2.2 Freight logistics

• the PC will conduct hearings on the National Port Authority A/B and will complete the legislation before the end of 2004.
• the PC will conduct oversight work at ports in the course of 2005 - to assess progress in upgrading capacity and in improving inter-institutional and public/private cooperation.

• the committee will conduct hearings with Spoomet and other stake-holders to assess progress, or otherwise in shifting freight from road to rail
• the committee will assess the performance of Spoomet

2.2.3 Aviation

• the committee will assess the performance and challenges of air freight services in our country, and of ACSA

• the committee will assess the performance of the range of safety and regulatory entitities including National Rail Safety Regulator, CAA and ATNS, the CBRTA, and the proposed Port Regulator, and SAMSA.

Time-frame: the PC will submit a comprehensive report to Parliament on all of the above and related matters in the first quarter of 2006.

2.3 Transport safety

The PC will monitor the performance of the Road Traffic Management Coporation, and assess its capacity to provide greater capacity to coordinate road traffic enforcement measures.

The PC will monitor and assess the Arrive Alive campaign and the NdoT Road to Safety programme.

The PC will complete the Road Accident Fund A/B before the end of 2004.

The PC will monitor the performance of the RAF and

The PC will engage the NDoT and all other stake-holders on the longer terms transformation of the Fund as envisaged in the Road Accident Fund

Commission - time frame a clearer position should be established before the end of 2005.

2.4 Job creation, labour intensity, training and broad-based black economic empowerment in the transport sector - The PC will:

• engage with government's expanded public works and major infrastructural investment programmes to assess the potential and actual impact of transport- related projects.
• assess the effectiveness of the TETA programmes, and conduct oversight work at actual training programmes
• contribute to the ongoing assessment of progress made and the impact of BEE in the transport sector.