Transport Bill: Legislation Means Nothing Without Political Courage For Implementation

GOOD Statement by Brett Herron
GOOD Secretary General & Member Of Parliament

25 October 2022


The 2009 National Land Transport Act was a progressive piece of legislation aimed at the development of a robust, integrated, affordable and accessible inter-modal public transport system in South African towns and cities.

With the FIFA 2010 World Cup focussing minds on logistics, the Act was at the cutting edge of providing solutions for urban mobility.

It correctly identified local government, and in particular cities with transport authorities and credible integrated transport plans, as the most appropriate sphere of government to manage public transport functions.

By providing for the devolution of public transport functions, it created potential for a public transport revolution in cities that were willing and able to reengineer their public transport networks to improve access and mobility for all residents.

It was the basis upon which cities could integrate all public transport services under one authority, and sowed the seed for what has become conventional wisdom; that urban rail should be devolved to cities or city regions, too.

By also providing cities with the opportunity to use transport planning, infrastructure and services to address the apartheid legacy of segregation and spatial injustice, it was an important flagbearer for integration.

In short, it provided a framework from which to tackle urban inefficiencies that have kept the democratic country, its economy and people shackled to the unwanted patterns of the past.

The importance of these ideals was recognised in the 2016 Integrated Urban Development Framework – but, nonetheless, we’ve made precious little process.

The reason we haven’t made much progress is not due to a lack of legislation or policy failure. The blame lies squarely in lack of political will, and obstruction by the Department of Transport. In 2014, the City of Cape Town, Western Cape Provincial Government and Golden Arrow Bus

Services signed multiple agreements for the devolution of the contracting authority function, and for its assignment from the Province to the City.

The City-approved Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan at the time sought to partner Golden Arrow Bus Services with the City’s MyCiTi service to create one integrated, seamless bus network where passengers could use one ticket as they commuted.

Golden Arrow has been providing bus services to the City of Cape Town on a month-to-month contract for decades. It has never tendered for the contract. The Integrated Transport Plan would ultimately put the bus network out to tender for multiple operators, including Golden Arrow, to compete for subsidised bus service contracts.

After signing the contracts the City applied for the devolution of the Contracting Authority and the Municipal Regulatory Entity functions – the latter which is responsible for issuing public transport operating licenses.

Although the Land Transport Act and government policy encouraged the devolution of these functions to metros with the capacity and plan to manage them, and although the devolution application was fully and lawfully processed, that’s where it got stuck.

In 2017 the City declared an intergovernmental dispute and, eventually, the then-Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters agreed to the devolution process.

Another five years later…dololo.

We appreciate that the President returned the Amendment Bill because he had concerns about the constitutionality of the devolution sections, and we support the Bill.

We note, however, that legislation is meaningless without the political courage to implement it.

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