An exploration of the sustainability of a public transportation system for a smaller metropolitan area in South Africa: a case study of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality
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Date
2019-12
Authors
Burger, Everardt Andre
Journal Title
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Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
The South African public transportation system is often associated with words such as ‘poor service delivery’, ‘unreliable’, ‘inaccessible’, ‘unsafe’, ‘unaffordable’, and ‘uncomfortable’. Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality currently has a state-subsidised transportation system which residents can use to travel between and within the various towns and cities of the metropolitan region (Chobokoane & Horn, 2015:81). Urban sprawl is a common phenomenon in South African cities, and Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality is no exception, which results in low density areas on the edges of the city that have limited access to basic services such as public transportation (Knaap & Talen, 2005:108). Although the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality’s Bus Rapid Transit project has many constraints (e.g. limited funding and expectations of high performance and quality) and is far behind on its original operation timeline, the value that this project may bring to the community is not doubted. This study aims to explore the factors that will promote a sustainable public transportation system for a medium size metropolitan area in South Africa such as MMM. The four research objectives derived from the aim guide the empirical and non-empirical facets of this study. The first objective calls for the non-empirical exploration of the literature on spatial planning and transportation development guidelines which may influence the sustainability of public transportation systems. The theoretical foundation of the first objective informs the empirical investigation expressed in the second and third objectives. The second objective investigates the transportation needs of the population of the study area, whereas the third objective identifies the spatial planning, transportation and sustainable development parameters of the current public transportation system of the study area. The fourth and final objective involves the convergence, synthesis and integration of the findings obtained through the investigations pertaining to the first three research objectives in order to propose plausible policy guidelines for the development of a sustainable public transportation system for the study area. The research is conducted within the interpretivist paradigm with a single case-study approach. Although this study employed a mixed method research design, the interpretivist paradigm was chosen since the individual commuter’s opinion is of particular value in this research study. Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality is the metropolitan municipality with the smallest population and the lowest density of all the metropolitan municipalities within South Africa and has a population of approximately 750 000 people (Stats SA, 2012). A purposive sampling method was used to select the first round of research assistants in the study area as a starting point for a snowball sampling technique. The data collection tool of this study employed a self-administered, self-explanatory mixed method questionnaire which was informed by the literature. A total of 550 questionnaires were distributed, with 447 respondents completing and returning the questionnaires (81.24% response rate). The contribution and significance of this study are the generation of new knowledge regarding sustainable public transportation systems for smaller cities and metropolitan areas on which there is limited published research, and to address the gap in knowledge between the areas of spatial, transportation and sustainable development practices in South Africa. The proposed plausible policy guidelines acknowledge the need to protect the environment, contribute to the economic development of the country and provide social justice to the residents of the area. Although the policy guidelines might be generalisable to other public transportation systems of other metropolitans or secondary cities such as George, Buffalo City, Ekurhuleni, Msunduzi and Polokwane, the purpose of this study was to investigate the specific transportation needs of the population of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. Future research pertaining to the policy guidelines for the design of a sustainable public transportation system in smaller areas can be conducted through in-depth interviews with spatial and transportation planners to expand on the proposed guidelines derived from this study. If the proposed policy guidelines discussed in section 8.5 are implemented, it may open the way for the exploration of the feasibility and effectiveness of the application of these guidelines into the national policies of South Africa.
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Keywords
Thesis (Ph.D. (Urban and Regional Planning))--University of the Free State, 2019, Transport Oriented Development, Bus Rapid Transit, Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Sustainable development, Public transportation