Ensure that all Public Transport Drivers are rigorously trained, not just only Taxi Drivers.

Some years back, Afriforum compiled a report on Taxis (Mini-Bus Taxis/Midi-Bus Taxis) after the death of a young girl, Bernadine Kruger who was cycling to school in Pretoria when a Mamelodi - Pretoria taxi knocked her off. I read the report which you can find here. At the end of the report, they published some letters from the readers who shared their experiences with taxis. One of the letter caught my eye (see below). I wonder if their report was ever read by the National Department of Transport (DoT), but a year on after the report, 10 scholars were killed in a train crossing in Cape Town after the mini-bus taxi they were travelling in crashed with the train - the taxi has failed to stop for the train to pass.

Yesterday, the DoT reported to parliament portfolio committee on transport that their National Scholar Transport Policy is on hold because there has been some disagreement between them and the Department of Education on which department is suppose to be responsible. This is sad, considering that millions of scholars work for long distances to school putting their life into risk as they either travel alone or on highways or making use of LDVs. Worse is the fact that the DoT's work on Scholar Transport is short of details ( as reported on E-TV). MPs also want drivers who transport pupils to be properly trained. But why don't we apply this training to all public transport drivers as recommended by a certain reader by the name of Morne?

Here is what he proposed;

We cannot be unrealistic and campaign to remove taxis from our roads, because the fact remains that they do serve a critical function of providing transport to millions of South Africans every day. Without transport people would be stuck, and it will bring productivity to a standstill in South Africa if the workforce cannot get to work. But drivers need to be controlled. So here is an idea: the biggest problem is just that any person who can sort of drive, or has enough contacts to either buy a licence or a minibus, can just become a taxi driver. If I buy a truck or a bus today, I cannot just become a truck/bus driver, I need to write and pass a special licensing exam. The taxi industry should be controlled much more efficiently in the same fashion.

They are after all responsible for the lives of the people that they transport, not so? For instance: if you want to become a taxi driver, in addition to your normal driver’s licence, you should also have a special taxi licence. To obtain this licence, you must first pass an advanced driving course, and write a rigorous exam on the rules of the road, and get tested thoroughly on it. Then, and only then, if you passed these criteria, will you be issued with a taxi licence. And you should only be able to buy a minibus if you already have the abovementioned licences, like when you want to buy a new TV and need to produce a TV licence first. Taxi drivers should also be forced to have their taxis checked for roadworthiness at least every quarter, and for this you get a stamp, like a servicing stamp. They should also have a refresher driving course every two years or so. And then of course there is the policing. If you are a taxi driver, and you are caught committing a traffic offence, or without the taxi licence, or proof of recent roadworthy checks, you should be fined heavily, and “marked” on the traffic system.

You then get 30 days to get your stuff in order. If you are caught again, your taxi is impounded and your taxi licence removed, and only when you have complied with all of the requirements all over again, and paid another fine, can you get your taxi back. Normal traffic offence fines for taxis should be higher than for other motorists, especially if you have passengers when you are caught, because you are endangering innocent people's lives. If we can better regulate, and properly train and police our minibus taxis, making them safe and trustworthy to use, we will have a fantastic ready-made public transport system that is different from anywhere in the first world. A public transport system that actually collects and drops you at your door. Imagine how fantastic that would have been for 2010!

If this is done without fear while bribes are not been taken by traffic officers (it is possible), then we will have a safer public transport for all. Not every Tom, Dick and Harry should just be allowed to drive passenger just because they have a license.

Metrobus timetable - a nightmare.

Ask anyone who has visited Metrobus website to check their timetable and they will tell you that the timetable is so hard to understand. Besides the timetable lacking a simple map that shows the routes taken by their buses, the timetable is complicated and does not advice how someone who wants to make a connection should do that.

Take for instance myself, I stay in Windsor West and work in Rivonia and I did not know that If I want to take a bus to work I had to take a bus to town first, get off at corner of Hofmeyer Drive and Beyers Naude Drive and connect with a bus coming from Sophiatown. Just nowhere on their timetable does it says so, not even their website has anywhere where they mention where connections can be made. Even now, I can't figure out which bus from my neighborhood I will have to take to the place that I have to make the connection.

Please don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the information is not there, I am just saying one will have to sweat to figure out the timetable though I must mention that on top of the buses there is information that specifies their zone number together with where the buses are coming going, via which suburb and the destination of the buses. But that alone waste time as new passengers have to ask drivers if their destinations are covered. Take for instance a bus that goes from FOURWAYS TO SOWETO VIA BRYANSTON, a passenger who is going to Randburg will still ask the driver if the bus goes via Randburg because the bus can still cover Bryanston and head to Randburg. Take a look at Rea Vaya's bus routes map and their times and I am sure you will wish Metrobus had something similar for its users (Though the two companies are run by the City of Johannesburg, it will be wise for them to be integrated in the future to minimize competition and a huge subsidy bill. Integration of Public Transport in South Africa is also long due)

To solve this issue, I believe that Metrobus (and all other operators that receives state subsidies and preferably working together) should be forced to introduce their bus routes map which indicate their full network, bus stops and bus times which can be accessible to everyone. By everyone I am including for those passengers who find themselves taking Metrobus for the first time without planning. Such passengers can be provided with a route map indicating the timetable in the bus stops similar for Gautrain's buses (My appologies that my picture cant show clearly what I want to talk about, but the pole behind the gentleman shows that this is a Gautrain bus stop, and just below that big sign is a map showing the routes that the bus takes and the timetable. Below is an example of the route map one finds in the bus stop, courtesy of Rosebank Killarney Gazette)

If Metrobus wants to realise its vision of being "......a world-class African bus service across the greater Johannesburg metro", then surely it needs to ensure that its timetable is easy and understandable, accessible and readily available but not only for the current passengers but for visitors as well.

Thembisa and Ivory Park - My observations.

Last week I visited my family in Tembisa and Ivory Park and I did some observations in the two areas.

View Thembisa Map in a larger map

1. Public Transport in the two areas is divided into local taxis (operates within a local jurisdiction), taxis that ferries passengers to outside Thembisa, buses and metrorail trains ( Observations were done on the first two modes and to the lesser extent on the metrorail)

2. It cost R6.00 to travel in a local taxi from anyway in Thembisa irrespective of the distance traveled.

3. Local taxis that are used to ferry passengers in both locations includes Toyota Avanzas, Toyota Condors and

Toyota Venture.

4. Taxis that ferries passengers outside the two locations are the popular Toyota taxis.

5. Despite being near the shops and new malls being developed, Leralla station lacks basic inter-modal facilities.

An opportunity exist to combine the development happening in this area with the station, however this is not being done.

6. There is a serious lack of public transport facilities along the Andrew Mapheto Dr despite the road being used by pedestrians and public transport users. The lights on the middle of the road, though are commended may not be enough provide enough light at night.

7. Just on the boarder of Ekhurhuleni and City of Johannesburg's I saw something interesting. There is

a road that runs across the two municipalities of which the Ekhurhuleni part's sidewalk is paved while CoJ's

is not. Where the sidewalk is paved, there are more economic activity (traders selling vegetables) while there

are less activities where the sidewalk is not paved.

8. Here are some photos that I took.

Cyclist

Pedestrian wants to cross the road/about to stop the taxi

Traders along the road where pedestrians pass

Pedestrian walking on a sidewalk

Car wash