Transport in South Africa
Template:Short description Template:Use South African English Template:Use dmy dates
Most people in South Africa use informal minibus taxis as their primary mode of transport. BRT, a bus service, has been implemented in some South African cities to provide more formalised and safer public transport services. These systems have been criticised due to their significant capital and operating costs. South Africa has many major ports, including Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth.
Department of TransportEdit
The Department of Transport is responsible for the regulation of all transportation in South Africa, including public transport, rail transportation, civil aviation, shipping, freight, and motor vehicles. According to the department's vision statement, "Transport [is] the heartbeat of South Africa's economic growth and social development!"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
RoadsEdit
Road network and freewaysEdit
Template:See Apartheid led to a massive expansion of South Africa's road and bus systems to transport black workers from bantustans they had been forcibly removed to from to urban areas. As a result of the severe wealth inequality under apartheid, the apartheid government heavily subsidised bus systems at the rate of $1,000 per commuter. For bantustans such as KwaNdebele, the apartheid regime provided a higher bus subsidy than their gross domestic product.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The national speed limit is 60 km/h in residential areas and 120 km/h on national roads, freeways, and motorways.
In 2002, South Africa had 362,099km of highways and 73,506km of paved (including 239km of expressways).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The term freeway in South Africa differs from most other parts of the world. A freeway is a road where certain restrictions apply.<ref>Road Traffic Act No 29 of 1989 Template:Webarchive</ref> The following are forbidden from using a freeway:
- a vehicle drawn by an animal;
- a pedal cycle (such as a bicycle);
- a motor cycle having an engine with a cylinder capacity not exceeding 50 cm3 or that is propelled by electrical power;
- a motor tricycle or motor quadrucycle;
- pedestrians
Drivers may not use hand signals on a freeway (except in emergencies), and the minimum speed on a freeway is Template:Convert. Drivers in the rightmost lane of multi-carriageway freeways must move to the left if a faster vehicle approaches from behind to overtake.
Despite the popular opinion that "freeway" means a road with at least two carriageways, single-carriageway freeways exist.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Afrikaans translation of freeway is snelweg (literally fast road or expressway).
Minibus TaxisEdit
Minibus Taxis are the predominant form of transport for people in urban areas of South Africa.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This is due to their availability and affordability to the public.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Most minibus taxis are not subsidised by the state and the taxi industry is notorious for using vehicles that are not well maintained.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Because many taxi owners own just a few taxis and each owner may choose to manage their business differently, there is not much known as to the inner workings of the industry. Since 1994, there have been efforts to formalise the industry, but as taxi organisations often don't abide by labour regulations, relationships between taxi operators and the state are often strained.
In 2021, there were 349,671 registered minibuses.<ref name="Calendar-Report-2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2021, there were 73,953 unroadworthy or unlicensed minibuses.<ref name="Calendar-Report-2021" />
Cape Town and MyCiTi IRTEdit
The City of Cape Town has clarified that developing public transportation is a priority to achieve its long-term developmental goals. As such, the city has planned the development of an Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) system called "MyCiTi IRT". In 2007, the construction of this system began with the implementation of Cape Town's "Bus Rapid Transit" system. This first phase has been designed to enable easy integration of other forms of public transport – ranging from cycling to South Africa's famous minibuses in later stages of the IRT development<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> – including rail transit, seen currently as "the backbone of public transportation in Cape Town."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CarpoolingEdit
Carpooling, or ride-sharing, is gaining renewed traction in South Africa as a response to high transport costs, congestion, and environmental concerns.<ref name="NHTS2020">Template:Cite report</ref><ref name="FAnews2025">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The National Household Travel Survey 2020 found that only 9.4% of households use buses as their usual mode of travel, and most urban trips are still made by private car, highlighting the need for shared mobility solutions.<ref name="NHTS2020"/>
After a period of decline, carpooling has seen a resurgence and has seen a few companies offering services to help reduce congestion and address the safety issues with South African transport<ref name="CrabaRideNews24">Template:Cite news</ref>
Carpooling offers several significant benefits:
- Economic: Carpooling allows commuters to share expenses on fuel, tolls, parking, and vehicle maintenance, resulting in substantial cost savings-especially for long-distance commuters.<ref name="DekraCarpooling">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ArriveAlive">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Environmental: By reducing the number of vehicles on the road, carpooling helps lower greenhouse gas emissions, decreases air pollution, and alleviates traffic congestion.<ref name="WWFCarpooling">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Changecars2024">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="CarpoolingScholar">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Road transport safetyEdit
South Africa's road traffic system might be less effective than most industrial countries, but it is not worse than other African nations. South Africa has an institutional framework for road safety led by the Road Traffic Management Corporation. South African laws follow global best practices, including speed limits, drink-driving, motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, child restraints, and mobile phone use.<ref name="heres-why-this-isnt-true" />
South Africa counts 26 deaths each year for 100,000 people (260 per million), a higher rate than the global average of 18 per 100,000 (180 per million).<ref name="heres-why-this-isnt-true">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2021, the country recorded 12,541 road fatalities for 11,726,476 vehicles (7.6 million motor vehicles and over 2.6 million light delivery vehicles/bakkies).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with "motor vehicle" including vehicles such as motorcycles and motor tricycles.
People killed in road accidents are mostly pedestrians with a percentage of 37.6%. Passengers suffer 32% of fatalities and drivers 27%.<ref name="saferspaces">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
58% of road deaths are attributed to alcohol use, which makes alcohol a leading factor in such fatalities.<ref name="heres-why-this-isnt-true" /> South Africa had the highest number of drunk driving incidents according to a WHO survey.<ref name="saferspaces" />
Pedestrians may be affected by a 60 km/h posted speed limit in residential and urban areas, a speed so excessive that it reduces pedestrians' chance of survival.<ref name="saferspaces" />
According to some sources, 31% of South African drivers wear seatbelts,<ref name="heres-why-this-isnt-true" /> while other sources claim a 45 to 60% compliance rate for drivers.<ref name="saferspaces" />
Vehicle maintenance issues cause 9% of road accidents, including tyres, brakes, and lights issues.<ref name="saferspaces" /> When vehicle safety is involved, tyres are the first issue in 41% of vehicle factors.<ref name="Calendar-Report-2021" />
When a crash is considered major, the crash type is often a head-on collision (44%), multi-vehicle (16%) or a T-Bone collision (15%).<ref name="Calendar-Report-2021" />
RailwaysEdit
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In 2000, South Africa had 20,384 km of rail transport, all of it narrow gauge. 20,070 km was Template:RailGauge gauge (9,090 km of that electrified), with the remaining 314 km Template:RailGauge gauge. The operation of the country's rail systems is accomplished by Transnet subsidiaries Transnet Freight Rail, Shosholoza Meyl, Metrorail, Transnet Engineering, Protekon et al.
A feasibility study is to be conducted into the construction of a 720 km of Template:RailGauge (standard gauge) line from Johannesburg to Durban for double-stack container trains.<ref>International Railway Journal, 2005-01-03</ref>
On 2010-06-07 the Gautrain opened between Oliver R Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) and Sandton. This is the first stage of a standard gauge passenger line connecting Johannesburg, Pretoria and ORTIA.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Links exist to Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe. Railways linking Mozambique are under repair.
Transportation systems in nearby countriesEdit
- Template:Flagdeco Angola
- Template:Flagdeco Tanzania same gauge as far as Dar es Salaam – transshipment to Template:RailGauge gauge at Kidatu
- Template:Flagdeco Malawi
- Template:Flagdeco Congo
- Template:Flagdeco Botswana
- Template:Flagdeco Lesotho
- Template:Flagdeco Mozambique, under repair
- Template:Flagdeco Namibia
- Template:Flagdeco Eswatini
- Template:Flagdeco Zambia
- Template:Flagdeco Zimbabwe
AirportsEdit
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Runways in South AfricaEdit
| Runway | <914 m | 914/1 523 m | 1 524/2 437 m | 2 438/3 047 m | >3 047 m | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paved | 11 | 67 | 50 | 5 | 10 | 143 |
| Unpaved | 252 | 298 | 34 | 584 |
International Airports and AirlinesEdit
South Africa has international airports in four cities: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Nelspruit. The main international airports are in Johannesburg and, to a lesser extent, Cape Town. Nelspruit's international airport mainly serves travellers en route to the Kruger National Park.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Many international airlines travel to South Africa, giving travellers many options. These include British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Ethiopian Airways, Kenya Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss International Air Lines, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Air Mauritius, Air Botswana, Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Alitalia, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
WaterEdit
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South Africa's major ports and harbours are Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay. In 2006, the new port is to open: Ngqura, at Coega, which is 20 km northeast of Port Elizabeth. The administration and operation of the country's port facilities are done by two subsidiaries of Transnet, the Transnet National Ports Authority and South African Port Operations (SAPO).
As of March 2018, the merchant marine consisted of 15 ships totalling 431,133 GT.
PipelinesEdit
There are 931 km of crude oil pipeline transport, 1,748 km for other petroleum products, and 322 km for natural gas. Petronet, a subsidiary of Transnet, which in turn is majority-owned by the government, is principally responsible for the operation of South Africa's pipelines.
TramwaysEdit
Many urban tramway systems operated in South Africa but no longer do so. The last system (in Johannesburg) began in 1890 as Rand Tramway (electrified in 1906) and ceased operations in 1961.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Template:Reflist Template:CIA World Factbook
External linksEdit
- Aviation, Airlines, Airports in South Africa
- Department of Transport
- Road statistics 2001/2003: distance travelled and fatal crashes by vehicle type and province (PDF)
- Transnet Site Template:Webarchive
- Travel Distances
Template:Economy of South Africa Template:Africa in topic Template:Country topics