Transport – the thread that sews together all the other elements in a city – is being discussed across the city this week during the Growth and Development Strategy outreach.

GDS2040

A CITY'S transport choices have major implications for the quality of life of its citizens; in a city where most people depend on buses, rail and minibus taxis to travel to and from work, it is imperative to find the safest, most cost-effective and environmentally friendly means of public transport travelling forward into 2040.

Rea Vaya, the City's Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT), ticks all of these boxes and provides an effective solution to traffic congestion in the inner city and Soweto.

As a way of generating discussion and finding solutions to transport concerns and congestion, the City is holding a transport themed week from 4 to 9 September as part of its Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) consultative programme, GDS2040.

Transport and related issues going forward into 2040 will be examined in a number of activities and events that have been planned to get the wheel rolling.

The focus, in particular, will be on: increasing public transport use and reducing private car use to contribute to improved quality of life for present and future generations; economic opportunities from moving to green fleets and green fuels; accelerated roll-out of integrated public transport including the Rea Vaya BRT system; reducing congestion and its negative impact on growth and productivity; creation of jobs through the green economy; and partnerships to promote road safety and enable behavioural change.

"We need to look at building a culture of cycling and non-motorised transport by unleashing economic opportunities such as community-based initiatives," says Rehana Moosajee, the portfolio head of transport.

A fun run/cycle kicked off the week's proceedings on 4 September, followed by a dialogue about ward-based transport needs. "The event [was] mainly to engage community stakeholders on transport-related issues which affect them at community level, and suggestions to address them," says a City spokesperson, Dudu Lushaba. How local communities can contribute to improving transport and its role in promoting growth and development were also up for discussion.

MMC for transport Rehana Moosajee will lead discussions on various radio stations

Various seminars and discussions will follow during the rest of the week, with an emphasis on turning transport green and transforming public transport operations, among others. Indeed, a seminar on ways of turning transport green took place today.

It looked at the promotion of local manufacturing of environmentally friendly buses, the creation of jobs through the use of local labour and small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), renewable fuel sources, reducing the use of large freight and cutting the number of delivery and waste vehicles by encouraging more local production, distribution and waste recycling.

Dialogue on the role of transport in improving productivity and growth will be held tomorrow. It will look at problems that companies face, such as congestion and consequent time delays, how businesses can partner with the City to improve transport, and exploring options such as carpooling and lift clubs, and working from home.

"Participants are encouraged to use public transport to the venue, Park Station, to experience the state of public transport in Joburg," Lushaba says.

Transforming public transport operations to make them more efficient and user-friendly forms an important part of transport week. The discussion on this will be hosted on Thursday and will examine how public transport operators can partner with the City, as has been done with Rea Vaya.

Rea Vaya and its value chain will be discussed, as will ways to improve service delivery and safety, resolving conflict and change management and economic empowerment and employment equity.

In addition, there will be talk shows on community radio stations on Wednesday, 7 September. "The MMC [Rehana Moosajee] and other spokespersons will be on various radio stations and raise transport values and how residents, through their own actions, can change and improve public transport, improve road safety and protect road infrastructure," she adds.

An indaba on Friday, 9 September will wrap up the week's activities by bringing together and collating the outcomes of each session, to determine the way forward. "The City will further interrogate these options," Moosajee says.

"Transport is seen as the key to other themes such as resource sustainability and economic growth," she adds. "We are seeing the natural linkages that often place transport at the centre of other issues."

For more information, you can visit the GDS2040 Facebook page, or follow on Twitter. The GDS also has a website.

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