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PRESSURES ON TRANSPORTATION
1) Physical and Demographic
Pressures
The urban form of South
African cities is not conducive to
transportation efficiency, and Durban is no
exception. Some factors are:
- Large single use zones
inhibit cycling and walking
- High density work zones
and low density residential zones create
problems for both public and private transport
- Urban sprawl engenders long
trips
Rapid population growth in the past has
increased the problem of urban sprawl through
the growth of peripheral informal settlements.
This has strained transportation provision. The
growth rate is, however, slowing in both Durban
and KwaZulu-Natal, and the effect of AIDS is
likely to be severe, with minimal population
growth between 2005 and 2015. This could ease
pressure on the transport system, but could
affect the supply of skilled operatives in the
transport industry and could result in the
diversion of funds from transport to health
sectors.
2) Public Transport
Pressures
Public
transport has long had to contend with various problems which
reduce overall effectiveness.
- administration is
fragmented among several controlling bodies
located in other centres as well as locally
- ownership of operations
is fragmented between one rail operator, 194 bus
operators and several thousand minibus-taxi
operators
- consequently, services
are unco-ordinated with too many transfers and
no combined ticketing
- the industry is beset
with crime and security problems (which, however,
are not confined to public transport)
- fares are low (as are
passenger incomes), cost recovery by the larger
operators is low and subsidisation in various
forms is high
- unregulated competition from the militant
minibus-taxi industry has led and is continuing
to lead to reduced train and bus patronage and
gradual reduction of services
3) Funding Pressures
South
Africa is a developing country with a small tax
base in relation to the population. For decades,
transportation has tended to have low priority
in the allocation of funds between competing
sectors. Urban transport has always been
under-funded compared with inter-city transport.
Currently, more political emphasis is being
placed on promoting public transport, but urban
major road building and improvement have
virtually come to a standstill. Ironically the
lions share of public transport uses the road
system, and due to the nature of its stop-start
operation, public transport will suffer from
traffic congestion more than private
traffic.
Even maintenance of the road system
is suffering, and in Durban gradual deterioration of the
network is noticeable. This is partly attributed to the decline
in capital funds being provided for maintenance
over the years.
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