Transport equity in South Africa - How much progress was made over the last two decades?

Abstract

Transport equity (justice) is a field of research that has been gaining momentum. As South Africa is the least equitable country in the world, according to the World Bank, the authors felt compelled to assess if this injustice is also present in the transport system. Availability, access, safety, security, affordability, inclusion, sustainability, human rights and equity are fundamental concepts of socially just transport. Consecutive South African Household Travel Surveys (2003, 2013 and 2020) were used to establish trends in travel times, mode use, travel purpose, as well as perceptions of road safety and personal security. Gender and race differences were analysed to investigate the (in)justice argument. Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in average travel time with evidence of racial disparity related to the travel time burden. The nation walks more, however, this is out of economic necessity, not environmental consciousness. While travel patterns between males and females only differ marginally in the South African context, in contrast with common literature, racial differences are significant. The Black community travels longer distances, mostly by walking and the use of (in)formal public transport. They are also more exposed to road safety and personal security risks. The analysis revealed that more metrics deteriorated over the past two decades than improved, leading to the conclusion that transport justice has not significantly improved, despite major investments in the public transport system, in the form of bus rapid transit systems, amongst others.

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