Introduction of BRT System in South Africa to Reduce Congestion: Lessons from the City of Johannesburg Simphiwe Ntuli C

1. Introduction of BRT System in South Africa to Reduce Congestion: Lessons from the City of JohannesburgSimphiwe NtuliCity of Johannesburg: South Africa

2. Structure of Presentation Introduction and Context Transformation of Johannesburg’s Public Transport System Background Information BRT Network for Johannesburg Progress with Implementation Expenditure to Date Challenges Lessons from Implementing BRT System in Johannesburg

3. Public Transport Picture in Johannesburg In South Africa, like in most developing countries congestion is one of the biggest challenge For example in Johannesburg about 3.5 million trips are made daily! 47% (1.7 million) of these are by public transport However not enough investment has been made on public transport Most of our roads are congested due to taxis and private cars 3

4. Transformation of Johannesburg’s Public Transport System

5. Background Information • In July 2006 the City of Johannesburg and Public Transport Operators visited Bogotá to learn about Bus Rapid Transit System • Following the visit, the City commissioned a detailed scoping study for the implementation of BRT • On 23 November 2006, the City’s Mayoral Committee and Council approved the implementation of BRT • Part of the approval was that consultations with incumbent Bus and Taxi operators should began as part of transformation • $312m was set aside to kick-start the project • The City also received: €2m from Jfw/GTZ and $3.5m from GEF/UNDP • Construction started on the 15th of October 2007 • The first BRT buses started to operate on the 1st of September 2009 5

6. BRT network for Johannesburg approved by Council in November 2006

7. Progress with implementation

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10. Expenditure to Date Infrastructure 25,5km of lanes and 25 stations completed $200m spent to date on infrastructure BRT corridor costs bet. $750 000 to $4.3m Station cost betw. $875 000 to $1.3m Rate of expenditure: $12,5m per month Buses: 143 (41:18m and 102:13m) 18m bus $562 500 13m bus $400 000 To date $48,9m spent on procuring buses To date we have spent $1.5m to negotiate with incumbent operators to transform public transport

11. Challenges • Shortage of Skills • Funding not enough • Difficulty of operating without subsidy • Resistance by taxi operators to switch from minibus taxis to BRT buses • Objection from affluent communities • EIA approvals 11

12. Lessons from implementing BRT System in Johannesburg BRT is very effective in reducing congestion and improving the level of service for Public Transport users When implementing BRT it is advisable to start small Political support is very important Do not over promise benefits to communities and politicians In poor communities, it is not easy to provide a high level of service without subsidies It is not easy to balance the needs of commuters, politicians and operators Transforming informal public transport operations is costly and time consuming