Our public transport system is highly regulated, and the state is one of the custodians of the providers of public transport services. SA has a road network of 750,000 km, the tenth longest network in the world. The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) is managing about 21,403 km, of which 84% are non-tolled and only 16% tolled.
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), the managing agency for community rail, owns 2,280km of SA’s rail network. Many students have no problem getting into school, but they have problems with getting there. Currently, the road is unavoidably the default freight transport mode, absorbing whatever traffic cannot be accommodated in other modes.
Because of its intensive use of infrastructure, the transport sector is an important component of the economy and a common tool used for development. Tertiary institution campuses are considered major trip attractors. This intense level of activity generates significant congestion levels within the campuses and in their vicinity, particularly in urban campus settings.
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In SA, we have more than 100 tertiary institutions, with over 1-million students enrolled. A sizeable percentage of these students shuttle between home and campus. The traffic looks set to continue growing – much of it on roads that are already operating at close to capacity during busy periods.
The department of higher education & training is striving to create a country that can provide decent opportunities for youth and adults through education and skills development initiatives. There’s no doubt that higher education is a powerful road to success. But what happens when the road is filled with potholes, impossible distances, broken-down vehicles, a lack of public transportation and other roadblocks? That’s why it’s important to ensure students have some reliable way of getting to campus.
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