Can public transport drive social mobility?

“A good public transport system is necessary for social upward mobility and economic growth,” notes the simplified version of the Draft National Public Transport Subsidy Policy. Truer words could not have been spoken. But hasn’t public transport already been subsidised for decades?

The short answer is yes. However, there hasn’t ever been a national subsidy structure for public transport, as pointed out by Darko Skribensik, CEO of transport specialist consultancy Future of Transport Consulting. Skribensik, who is also a member of the policy drafting team, made this observation at a Transport Forum event on 18 March, organised in partnership with the Department of Transport (DoT).

Three documents were highlighted during the event: the Draft National Public Transport Subsidy Policy (Gazetted on 23 February for public comments), technical notes in support of the policy statement, and a simplified version that summarises the draft policy.

“Essentially, [although] the subsidy [structure for public transport] existed for a couple of decades in South Africa, there has never been a policy to guide the actual public transport subsidy,” Skribensik said.

The foundation for this to change came in 2021, he added, when the updated White Paper on National Transport Policy was gazetted, referring specifically to the requirement to develop a guideline or policy regarding the public transport subsidies, in order to regulate what had already been happening in the country for some time.

Skribensik highlighted that the majority of public transport subsidies are currently divided between rail (about 56%) and buses (about 43%), while “minibus taxis [receive] the bare minimum”, adding: “There are considerable challenges, especially in the rail sector, where patronage has dropped significantly for the last couple of decades.”

It’s no wonder that, as Skribensik revealed, the current subsidy structure only reaches about 1.6% of the country’s population: just 2.4% of the labour force, or 7.4% of the people using public transport. “Essentially, the aim [of the draft policy] is that the allocation of [the] subsidy in the future would be on the basis of planning [by] area or region, contributing to the sustainable transport objective [nationally],” he explained.

Another drafting team member, Dr Mathetha
Mokonyama, leads the transport systems and operations impact area at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. “One of the foundational elements of the draft policy is sustainability and – in this regard – every rand of expenditure paid for public transport must set in motion a better life for both present and future generations,” he stressed. 

Mokonyama told the Transport Forum that investment in transport infrastructure has lagged behind the levels required. The draft policy aims to address this by allocating capital funding, guided by specific transport plans across various sustainable modes of transport – as set out by municipalities – to achieve specific transport objectives. This follows a Constitutional Court ruling some years ago, wherein it was deemed unconstitutional for municipalities not to have authority over transport within their jurisdictions.

Mokonyama added that in drafting the policy, the team hoped to improve optimisation of the existing funding scheme, removing leakages to consolidate public transport as far as possible. It also aimed to make sure that subsidies are allocated “on the basis that there is accountability”. He noted that this is in contrast to what has happened historically, including up to the present day: the allocation of subsidies based on prior allocations. 

To address this, the draft policy includes criteria and benchmarks to which all stakeholders must adhere. “A large chunk of the population [is] essentially struggling… the economy is being held back, partly because society is inefficiently funding [each] kilometre [passengers travel],” Mokonyama said, adding that maintaining the status quo will only further entrench poverty within our society. 

The window for public comment on the second draft policy is now closed, but it will be interesting to see how things unfold as public transport policy (hopefully) moves towards empowering people to elevate themselves.