OPINION | Public transport hurdles threaten SA students’ academic success

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.
— Mfanafuthi Sithebe

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.

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?

Many students have no problem getting into school, but they do have problems with getting there. That’s why it’s important to ensure students have some reliable way of getting to campus.

Most students enrolled with public tertiary institutions in SA are subsidised by the government through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). They receive a variety of support through the scheme, which also includes transport allowance. Students who opt to make their own accommodation arrangements, including staying at home, staying with immediate family members, or staying at accredited accommodation, qualify for a transport allowance.

There is an enormous amount of money required for tertiary institutions, and most students cannot afford to buy a car or pay extra for public transportation, which is not reliable.

Most tertiary institutions are in previously white-dominated suburbs, and direct transport to these institutions is not available in disadvantaged communities.

The upward pressure on the demand for higher education is confronted with a lack of policy infrastructure to manage the concomitant travel demand. Tertiary institutions have influential impacts on local development and prestige, but they generate negative externalities in access, mobility and the environment when not managed properly.

The general expectation by society is that after varsity/college students will get a job and pay taxes.

A minuscule amount of these taxes would go to support public transport for the next generation of varsity/college students who would enjoy the benefits provided by their predecessors.

This way, people who have money would be paying for public transport as opposed to people that don’t. It is a great system of “passing it forward”.

Changes in integrated transport planning practices are necessary, particularly for cities and towns with tertiary institutions in their jurisdiction. This requires appropriate output specifications for transport operators, authorities, and institutions to be coordinated and aligned.

Managing travel demand for university precincts can be performed in numerous ways, but the role of the mobility management plan and mobility manager in coordinating the function appears to be a prerequisite for policy effectiveness.

Students pay institutions an obscene amount of money for attending, and these institutions owe it to them to make their life as easy as possible financially. In many countries, the local academic institution makes a deal with the local public transport agency so that students can just swipe their university card and ride for free. This should be implemented nationwide.

A dedicated public transport system serves as a benefit not only to the tertiary institution community but also to the surrounding communities. Municipalities must then be seen as strategic partners of higher education to generate the necessary urban renewal frameworks needed that will drive local economic growth and sustainable communities.

The location of tertiary institutions must also benefit the surrounding communities and be able to boost local economies – the bus schedules/routes, road mapping and railway networks must acknowledge the existence of institutions located within the boundaries of the municipalities, but more important is the inclusion of the needs of these “transit-citizens” in the town planning.

Almost all municipalities in SA provide a public bus transport system (Are Yeng, Re Yavaya, Harambee) with linkages to the railway stations. However, the operating hours of these buses and public libraries do not take into consideration the existence of the “transit-citizens”.

The reality is that transport and poverty in SA are linked, as many rely heavily on public transportation to get to work and to seek employment. Higher education in SA faces several challenges, including the increased student drop-out rate.

In the end, the positive effects of transportation contribute to social inclusion, the well-being of citizens and job creation as well as the country’s economic development.

A restructured higher education system should be socially just and equitable in its distribution of resources and opportunities. But most important are strategic collaborations between higher education institutions and local municipalities.

An important aspect of redressing the legacy of apartheid in SA involves addressing its spatial legacy.

For the new post-school education to thrive, it needs to serve the interest of most of the people. Therefore, a complete overhaul of the transport system is needed to unlock the unfortunate selective spatial development.