Author:gerard-de-villiers

Land use development and transport planning integration are vital May 16, 2023 Land use development and transport planning are not isolated silos that can happen independently of each other, as GERARD DE VILLIERS explains. Land use development in urban and rural areas should preferably be undertaken according to established norms and standards, as provided in town and regional planning guidelines. It is fair to assume that this happens most of the time in most places. Similarly, transport planning should be […]

Pre-positioning vital for effective humanitarian relief April 3, 2023 Last-mile deliveries don’t only apply to commercial undertakings; they’re equally important when it comes to humanitarian relief, writes GERARD DE VILLIERS. Commercial supply chains consist of a network of links and nodes between origins and destinations. The nodes include intermodal terminals and freight logistics hubs located in the most cost-effective places to serve the market, while the final link to the destination is called the “last mile”. This is probably the […]

Road to rail: sensible or suicide? March 1, 2023 The choice of transport mode should theoretically depend on transport economic principles, but recently the debate on road to rail migration has intensified. Does moving freight from road to rail make sense? GERARD DE VILLIERS investigates… The rationale for moving freight from road to rail, and the reasons for having this debate, are varied. Rail transport can be more sustainable, assuming the source of energy comes from sustainable generation, while the […]

SA freight logistics: the status quo February 21, 2023 The freight logistics sector in South Africa consists of various transport modes, each of which plays an important role in supply chains. These should not be seen as competing, but rather as complementary, writes GERARD DE VILLIERS. Currently, road transport dominates freight transport for a number of reasons, such as the inherent characteristics of flexibility (door-to-door deliveries), competitive price, reliability, speed, good security, and safe handling of cargo. Although the ideal […]