New bus plan rests on taxi operator buy-in

The City of Johannesburg's new bus rapid transport (BRT) system, named Rea Vaya, or "we are moving", will introduce a sea change from the public transport system South Africans have come to know.

One of the most noticeable changes when the system becomes operational in 2009 will be the absence of minibus taxis - or, at least on the trunk (main) routes which will be serviced by the new BRT system.

City of Johannesburg transportation executive director Bob Stanway says the only buses allowed on the trunk routes will be those of the BRT system.

The trunk routes in this system will make use of large buses travelling in dedicated median lanes on roads, with smaller complementary buses operating on BRT routes without dedicated lanes, feeding commuters into the trunk routes.

Buses will stop at special stations to be constructed every 500m to 750m along the trunk routes.

This means a four-lane road will typically see the two middle lanes taken up by the BRT system, with the remaining lanes allocated to other vehicles.

Phase 1A, comprising a 40km route with 48 stations, will be completed by April 2009, ahead of the Fifa Confederations Cup, while Phase 1B will add 86km and 102 stations to the system ahead of the 2010 soccer World Cup. The estimated cost of phase 1A and B is R2 billion.

Further phases will be constructed in a step-by-step manner.

Stanway says the shareholders in the various companies set to operate the bus system will be the operators active on the routes forming part of the BRT.

These will include minibus taxi operators, the city's Metrobus service and any other bus services, such as Putco.

Buy-in from taxi operators, who are notorious for shunning any attempt to reform their industry - as demonstrated by the taxi recapitalisation project, which is still struggling to get off the mark after being announced in 1999 - may be the biggest obstacle to the project.

The recapitalisation project aims to modernise the current fleet of taxis by setting minimum standards for the vehicles used by taxi operators.

Despite several agreements between the government and the taxi industry, some rogue elements still refuse to comply.

By June this year, after a fresh recapitalisation programme was announced in 2004, only 4 271 old taxi vehicles (about 4.2 percent of the fleet) had been scrapped as part of the taxi recapitalisation programme.

Ibrahim Seedat, the public transport strategy director for the department of transport, says gaining the support of taxi operators is the most important aspect of ensuring a successful BRT implementation effort and that all cities implementing systems such as these will have to give it the requisite attention and planning budgets.

These local authorities will have to develop a business proposition that (subject to operator performance) guarantees incumbent taxi owners and drivers improved profit margins and working conditions, should they become part of the BRT system.

Seedat also notes that the refusal by some taxi operators to co-operate with the taxi recapitalisation project can be linked to the perceived financial risk of change, especially in terms of profits and employment numbers.

A nationwide effort

BRT systems are being rolled-out across the country, in a bid to alleviate congestion and promote public transport ahead of the 2010 soccer World Cup, which should see an influx of visitors dependent on such transport.

At least three other cities - Tshwane, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth - are to introduce initial phases of BRT systems to be operational before 2010.

The City of Tshwane, for example, will develop a R1.9 billion BRT system of 92km, to be operational in time for the World Cup. Construction is to start mid-2008, and to be concluded in 2010, City of Tshwane transport system planning and forecasts deputy manager Jaco van den Berg tells Engineering News.

Stanway says global best practice has shown that conflict is minimised when existing operators are drawn into BRT systems.

"The city of Bogota, in Colombia, faced a similar challenge with its taxi industry and managed to avert conflict by making them shareholders in the operating companies responsible for running the BRT system."

He emphasises that no new operators will be brought into the system, and that the operation of the BRT will revert only to operators.

Stanway says an operating company may be responsible for any one specific route or may be limited to portions of different routes. The latter provides leverage to the city - again similar to Bogota.

Phase one, for example, has seven routes.

"If any one operator strikes, there will be no buses available on that entire route.

"However, when operators are responsible for portions of routes, no one route is affected in its entirety, making it possible to ask nonstriking operators to extend their services to the affected parts," explains Stanway.

He says the City of Johannesburg signed a memorandum of understanding with one major grouping of taxi operators in October, in preparation for the introduction of the BRT system.

"It is important to understand that we are not taking taxis off the road - we are simply incorporating taxi operators into a new public transport system," says Stanway.

He notes that operating companies will only be announced in 2009.

"A substantial budget has been allocated to train drivers to operate within a BRT," adds Stanway.

"Taxi drivers have code 8 licences, and would need licences for much larger vehicles."

To those commuters anticipating a bus system representing the rather haphazard minibus taxi service, Stanway says they need not fear.

Operating companies will be paid by the kilometre, and not by commuter, meaning the emphasis is on a quick and efficient point-to-point service with no deviation.

Minibus taxi operators currently wait for their vehicles to fill up before they depart, not adhering to any set time schedule.

Ticking clock

Apart from buy-in from the minibus taxi industry, the largest challenge remaining may be to beat the clock. For Johannesburg and some other cities, the 2010 curtain-raiser - the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup - is looming.

The 17km Chinese BRT system built in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics took 16 months to complete from conceptualisation to implementation. South Africa has 30 months remaining to kick-off, and this for much larger systems.

At least the largest portion of phase one of the Rea Vaya system already has environmental approval from the Gauteng government.

Still outstanding, though, is the portion between Industria and Parktown, largely owing to concerns by Parktown residents that the system may cause noise levels to increase.

Phase one will also require the expropriation of a number of existing houses, which can become a drawn-out process if challenged in court.

Environmental approval is not necessary for all parts of the route, though, especially in areas where the BRT system will operate within existing road reserves, which means the footprint of the road remains exactly as it stands.

Stanway expresses the hope that BRT systems across the country will soon be able to operate under a special dispensation, allowing their environmental-impact assessments (EIAs) and approvals to be fast-tracked.

"We are hoping to get some special dispensation, not only because of the time constraints, but also because BRTs actually have a positive environmental impact, as they reduce pollution levels.

"However, to be on the safe side, we are working within a planning framework where we expect EIAs to run their normal course.

"We are positive phase 1A will be ready in time for the Confederations Cup," says Stanway.

A full version of this article appears in the latest edition of Creamer Media's Engineering News