Reginald Kgwedi, founder of Transport and Logistics Students Association writes:
The most convenient door-to-door public transport service in our public transport space is offered by the taxi industry.
Taxis drive in the yellow lane but who are they hurting in the process? Nobody, except those taking the emergency lane. However, it is of great importance that they please the passengers because time and convenience are part of a successful public transport system.
Any taxi driver who does not use a yellow lane in rush hour is running the risk of not getting another load of passengers for that route the next morning or afternoon because no one would get into his taxi.
Does the MEC or minister of transport know about this? A big ‘yes’. Their solution is to issue fines to taxi drivers for these transgressions. It is obvious that public transport modes need dedicated lanes or high occupancy vehicle lanes to meet customers’ needs.
Let us take a look at streets such as Bree and Jeppe in Johannesburg which are used mostly by taxis. I do not see why both streets cannot be dedicated for taxis, buses and non-motorised transport only.
A counter argument may be that businesses will suffer if the parking spaces and private cars are removed from these two streets. But look at Kerk and Church streets. Church Street is one of the most pedestrian-friendly streets in the CBD and the businesses in the street still exist.
We have a problem of vested interest, hence the negligence of the taxi industry and the prioritisation of the BRT, which runs empty most of the day. I am not saying BRT is not a good system, but the approach is bad. The continuous preaching about a safe, reliable, effective and efficient mass integrated rapid public transport system is not being implemented well because public transport is still not integrated.
As a country, we have potential and solutions to our problems but the way we try to address such problems is problematic.
