Towards a provincial public transport institutional framework for public and non-motorised transport transformation and improvement in the Western Cape

The Western Cape Government is currently developing a Provincial Public Transport Institutional Framework (PPTIF) to guide public and non-motorised transport improvement in the non-Metro areas of the Province. The framework aims to address the critical barriers to improving the current unacceptable state of affairs. The framework incorporates innovative approaches to tackling the challenges faced by the sector. Once the framework has been completed, it will be implemented. The PPTIF differs from the Provincial Land Transport Framework (PLTF). The primary reason for the PLTF is to serve as a strategic management tool for the provincial transport department and includes the vision, objectives and policies of the department; current public transport strategies and sector strategies as well as associated financial, monitoring and institutional arrangements. The PPTIF develops aspects of the PLTF in more detail, developing an institutional framework for achieving the improvement to public and non-motorised transport envisioned by the Department. The PPTIF also introduces innovative mechanisms for reducing cost and enhancing capacity to implement, which will inform future versions of the Provincial Land Transport Framework (PLTF).Paper presented at the 34th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 6-9 July 2015 "Working Together to Deliver - Sakha Sonke", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.The Minister of Transport, South AfricaTransportation Research Board of the US

Blue dot taxi system in the Western Cape : systems and technology overview

Papers presented virtually at the 41st International Southern African Transport Conference on 10-13 July 2040The Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW) initiated the Blue Dot Taxi pilot project to encourage, monitor, and reward behaviour change in the minibus taxi (MBT) industry through an incentive programme for compliant participants. The incentive is determined by the participant’s performance against specified standards designed to improve road safety and service quality for passengers and the broader public. To enable this, each participating taxi is fitted with hardware, including a telematics device and a driver tag. This hardware links the taxi and driver to the incentive system, which routinely checks that compliance requirements have been met and measures performance of the participants against the standards. Participants are enrolled via a registration portal, and their vehicles are inspected using a purpose-built depot application. Compliance checks include daily eNatis and operating licence validity checks, amongst others. All this information feeds into the Intelligent Transport Solution, which monitors and measures performance through a Business Intelligence platform, and calculates incentive payments. Passengers can also rate taxis via WhatsApp and USSD and report incidents, which automatically impacts the incentive calculation and improves accountability of participating MBT services. The government-owned technology is easily scalable and has been successfully used to reduce instances of speeding and harsh driving, and improve passenger perception

Minibus taxi improvement initiatives in the Western Cape

Papers presented virtually at the 41st International Southern African Transport Conference on 10-13 July 2023.Minibus taxis transport the vast majority of public transport passengers in South Africa, and the minibus taxi industry is critical to the functioning of the country’s economy. However, the services provided by the industry are generally of a low standard and there is a need to improve service quality while formalising the industry and addressing issues of violent conflict. This paper provides a case study review of two innovative minibus taxi initiatives implemented by the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW), namely Red Dot Taxi and Blue Dot Taxi, as a knowledge contribution to the sector. The paper was developed by core members of the DTPW team, who conceptualised and implemented these initiatives, and is based on their experiences and understanding of these projects. The first project, Red Dot Taxi was established during the first wave of COVID-19 to support the fight against the pandemic by providing related transport services. Based on the strong working relationship established between DTPW and the provincial taxi industry through Red Dot, the Blue Dot Taxi pilot project was later implemented as an incentive programme to improve service quality and safety. The pilot became operational in May 2021 and was successful in achieving its objectives and in laying the groundwork for further improvements to minibus taxi services. The paper lays out the results and lessons learnt from the pilot