A Dream of an Ideal Transport System in South Africa

by Sinethemba Mngqibisa, Director: Freight (2002-2005)

People dream everyday. Some dream about living happy lives, driving expensive cars and living in luxury. Dreams are important because without them, nothing can be achieved. I would like to share with you my dream of the ideal transport system in South Africa.

This dream covers mainly three areas: affordable and highly accessible scholar transportation, minimal damage to the transport infrastructure and increased knowledge of the transport subject. Firstly, I dream that this country can have in place affordable ‘free’ transport for scholars. This will ensure that the nation becomes educated. No child will come to school exhausted and unable to concentrate because of walking long distances or unable to attend school because parents cannot afford transportation costs. Education will be accessible to everyone.

Basically, transport is defined as a means to an end. In this case, it will be an end to the achievement of education. If the nation is educated, people will have skills to get employment and create employment opportunities. Since people will utilize skills to earn a living, poverty and crime will be eradicated. There is then a need to explore scholar transportation systems of successful countries like the USA and its ‘yellow bus’ concept. This could be adapted to our country situation.

Secondly, efficient transport system can only operate on a well-suited infrastructure. Road transport carries 80-90 of the country’s passenger and freight transport and provides the only form of access to most rural communities. To be effective as a catalyst for development, road transport provision must be economically, financially, socially and environmentally sustainable. Such an asset is the backbone of any country’s development and should thus be carefully maintained. Good sustainable road infrastructure can be realized by setting appropriate permissible mass levels for heavy vehicles, exploring innovative means to curb overloading apart from law enforcement, and by stopping subsidization of heavy vehicles by motorists through letting them pay according to the damage they cause. The former Administrator of USA Federal Highway Administration once said, ‘It was not our wealth which made our good roads possible, but rather our good roads which made our wealth possible".

Lastly, I dream that one day, transport will be recognised and take its place in the lives and minds of people. This will be the time when Transport Economics will be introduced at the early education stage and be written as one of matric subjects. We will be able to develop career paths for our transport sector and in that way we will achieve what is viewed by many today as impossibility. I urge anyone who believes that he/she is a winner, to join me in fighting until these dreams are finally realised.

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