Every South African aspires to owning a car. This desire goes well beyond the need to acquire a simple means of transport for personal image is tightly bound to the social status of the South African psyche.
For the poor, the first step on the social ladder is the means to buy a bicycle. A personal means of transport in a country that has very limited public transport facilites translates into financial status. Owning a car is the next thing to status heaven. For those who can afford it why own a little Kia when you can drive the latest Ford Ranger 4x4? Why be seen in a common Ford when you can drive a Jeep? A lot of this perception of status would keep commuters self driving even if there were regular busses in every city in the country.
Public transport vehicles in South Africa are often old, unreliable and have limited routes. With the exception of the Gautrain, rail transport is crowded, poorly maintained and very often dirty.
The mini taxis also known as pirate taxis have a bad reputation for unsafe driving and frequently stop running services in order to have taxi route wars. The concept of car-pool sharing and lift clubs is still fairly new and in comparison to more developed countries is seldom considered in terms of energy saving and conservation. The amount of lift clubbing and car pooling barely makes a dent in the traffic flow of South Africa.
The primary means of transport to work and school involves the use of a private car or mini-taxi. The average number of passengers per trip is 4 people. This translates into each passenger generating 2,485.22kg of CO2 per year. To put this into a tangible context - it takes 28.98 trees per passenger per year to generate enough oxygen to compensate for this pollution.
In August 1996 Mac Maharaj, Minister of Transport stated that the vision for South African transport is of a system which will:
"Provide safe, reliable, effective, efficient, and fully integrated transport operations and infrastructure which will best meet the needs of freight and passenger customers at improving levels of service and cost in a fashion which supports government strategies for economic and social development whilst being environmentally and economically sustainable".
Nearly ten years on from this the public perception is that all South Africa really has to show for these noble sentiments is the E-Toll Debacle and a roller coaster ride on fuel prices.
Speaking to the Mail & Guardian in 2013 Jack van der Merwe, chief executive of the Gautrain Management Agency said "There is a lot of public transport happening, but it's fragmented and not co-ordinated,"
Fragmentation means the death of any co-ordinated public transport improvements.
Change comes from the consumer in every society. Consumer potential to pressure the governing bodies of South Africa to impliment a reliable and safe public transport system is just not there. In a society where owning a car is about status and freedom of choice nobody should be holding their breath that an innovative public transport system is going to happen in their lifetime.
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