Public transport integral to sustainable growth

Rustenburg, South Africa’s fastest growing city, has a sustainable growth plan in which public transport plays an integral role. According to Rustenburg Local Municipality’s MMC for Transport Councillor Happy Serongoane, “The City of Rustenburg aims at being a partner in local government’s commitment to taking action against climate change, and we support the Sustainable Cities programme to develop strategies for the sustainable use of finite resources. We would like to see Rustenburg become a model of best practice for environmental sustainability in a developing country.”

To further this end, the Rustenburg Rapid Transport (RRT) project team members went to last year’s 17th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (COP 17) and helped organise a “Bridging the Gap” event promoting sustainable transport as a means to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

In attendance were the Transport ministries of South Africa, Columbia, Indonesia and Germany and representatives of multilateral development organisations such as the Asian and Inter-American Development Banks. On the agenda were low-carbon transport strategies and the use of nationally appropriate mitigation actions to fund such strategies.

Road Ahead spoke to Pauline Froschauer, RRT project manager.

What, for you, were the most important take-home points from COP 17?

Not being involved in the actual negotiations, for me personally, COP 17 was largely about networking and advocacy: meeting up with international colleagues one has not seen for a while, meeting new people from the transport community around the world, and discussing the latest ideas with regard to implementing low-carbon transport.

The event, which we organised in conjunction with the “Bridging the Gap” coalition under the auspices of the South African Department of Transport, is an example of the type of advocacy work one tries to do at events such as COP – bringing together Transport ministries and multilateral development organisations to find common ground and hopefully funding for sustainable transport projects.

And the vegetarian pizza and home-brewed beer in the food court were pretty good, too!

What does “Bridging the Gap” mean for Rustenburg currently and in the future?

“Bridging the Gap” is an international coalition of organisations – the German Technical Co-operation Agency/GIZ, Veolia Transdev, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, International Association of Public Transport and Transport Research Laboratory United Kingdom – that have joined forces to encourage international action to slow down the growth in carbon emissions in the land transport sector.

I think the concept of ‘bridging the gap’ between the different role-players in the transport arena in South Africa is the key to successfully implementing our transport policies. This applies within a city such as Rustenburg, between Rustenburg and other cities, between spheres of government and between operators and government.

We have embarked on a transformational public transport path in South Africa and we need to work toward a common vision for our future cities and the role of public transport within them.

Could you describe the project’s past and future milestones?

After determining that the project was feasible, the first milestone was putting together the right project team. I am confident we have some of the best people in their fields working on the RRT project.

Developing good working relations with local public transport operators was a key milestone, and we look forward to entering the formal negotiation process with them this year.

Much of 2011 was spent in detailed planning and preliminary design work.

We look forward to putting out construction tenders for fast-track sections of the bus rapid transit busway and for the Transport Management Centre (TMC) in the next few months.

Other milestones will be the final design of the stations, the establishment of a new operating company or companies for the future public transport system, the branding and naming of this system, the specification and ordering of new buses, and the establishment of a Rustenburg Transport Agency that will manage the future system.

What are the time- and budget constraints?

The RRT project is funded by a conditional grant from National Treasury, called the Public Transport Infrastructure and Systems Grant (PTISG). It also funds similar projects in up to 12 cities around South Africa – projects such as Rea Vaya in Joburg and MyCiTi in Cape Town.

Each year, National Treasury and the Department of Transport jointly consider grant applications from each city, together with the progress that has been achieved in the previous year. So apart from the fact that the total PTISG cake is limited, the annual budget allocated to Rustenburg depends on how strongly we motivate our case and how strongly we perform.

We have set ourselves a deadline of 2015 for the new public transport system to start operating and we feel that this is a feasible deadline if we all work together.

What is working in your favour, and what is proving to be a challenge as far as your stakeholders are concerned?

I do not think we look at stakeholder engagement as what does or does not work in our favour. The RRT project aims to bring a quality public transport system to the people of Rustenburg. Clearly, different stakeholders approach the project from different viewpoints, with different needs and concerns. That is why the stakeholder engagement process is so crucial, and why Rustenburg encourages everyone to become a part of the project in some way.

The most challenging aspect is probably ensuring the message gets out to all communities including the peri-urban and rural ones, and that the nature and envisaged outcomes of the project are clearly understood. People can only make meaningful input if they are given all the information they need in a clear and timely manner.

How will RRT mesh with current or future Rustenburg initiatives?

The RRT project needs to be seen within the context of Rustenburg city development as a whole, so it meshes with all projects that involve spatial development and movement, and the myriad factors that influence these.

Rustenburg is currently reviewing its development strategies and plans to ensure the programmes and projects contained in them are consistent with the municipal vision for 2025.

What is the localisation component for the manufacture of the RRT’s hardware?

The hard components of the RRT project incorporate infrastructure such as dedicated roadways, bus stations, and depots; the TMC and specialised information technology equipment and software required to manage and monitor the service; the automated fare collection system; and vehicles that will be purchased for the new system.

The localisation component will differ between these elements and between city, regional and national suppliers. For instance, we know that in December last year, buses were designated by the Department of Trade and Industry as one of the targets for local procurement in terms of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA). However, the minimum level of local content has still to be stipulated. So the localisation component will need to be determined by Rustenburg on a tender by tender basis, with the aim of maximising local content wherever possible.

What jobs and skills is the RRT likely to add to the economy directly and indirectly?

It has been estimated that the RRT project will generate approximately 5 500 jobs during the design and construction phase, and provide sustained employment for more than 2 100 workers in the operation and management of the integrated public transport network once it is launched in 2015. The jobs range from construction and manufacturing, vehicle drivers and mechanics, to jobs in fare collection, maintenance and security.

Rustenburg’s policy is to maximise local procurement, to encourage the transfer of new skills into the local economy, and to promote the establishment of new businesses.

Have you learnt anything new about project management since the inception of this project?

On a project like this, one learns something new almost every day!

The project management is particularly challenging because apart from budgets and timelines and the more commonly understood aspects of project management, this project spans disciplines from public transport planning and operations to engineering, architecture and urban design, business and financial models, and marketing and communications. And, probably most importantly, it involves the transformation of the way public transport is provided in South Africa.

So the project management role becomes one of both strategic and technical co-ordination between the different project work streams to ensure we are all heading in the same direction. We are trying to take the road less travelled!

What other projects in South Africa and beyond excite you?

Obviously, we are monitoring the progress of the Rea Vaya and MyCiTi projects with much interest, as well as similar urban transport projects around the world.

What really excites me is the prospect of seeing the extent to which we can use public transport projects such as the RRT as leverage in our cities to address the inefficient spatial development patterns of the past, but also the spatial and logistical realities of rapid urbanisation and informal settlements that face us now and in the future.

It has been five years since Cabinet adopted the 2007 Public Transport Strategy and Action Plan. Much has happened in those five years, but I believe the next five years – from 2012 to 2016 – must see the accelerated implementation of transport projects that positively transform movement, space and connectedness in our cities.

Greg Penfold