scholarly journals Shorter commutes, but for whom? Comparing the distributional effects of Bus Rapid Transit on commute times in Cape Town, South Africa, and Barranquilla, Colombia

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 647-667
Author(s):  
Manuel Santana Palacios ◽  
Lisa Rayle
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Global South ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Using Data

Bus rapid transit has become an increasingly popular investment in cities in the Global South, where policy discourse often positions BRT as a pro-poor investment. Planners usually expect BRT to reduce commute times in urban areas, particularly for economically disadvantaged populations, thus reducing mobility gaps between transit users across different socioeconomic population groups. Despite increased interest in BRT, there is surprisingly limited research testing these assumptions. Using data from a retrospective survey administered in Barranquilla, Colombia, and Cape Town, South Africa, we investigated whether BRT contributes to reducing commute time gaps between socioeconomic populations. Our comparative and distributional analyses indicate that, while BRT narrowed the gap in commute times in Cape Town, it did not contribute to closing the gap in Barranquilla. We argue that this contradiction may, in part, be explained by the degree to which BRT route configuration responded to the urban form and pre-BRT transit conditions in each city—two factors often overlooked in academic literature and discussions surrounding BRT planning. We close by providing policy recommendations that promote more equitable planning practices and recognize the links between transport and land uses in the Global South urban context.

scholarly journals The bus rapid transit system: A service quality dimension of commuter uptake in Cape Town, South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prince D. Ugo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
The City

This study evaluated commuter uptake of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Cape Town,South Africa. As a stated preference survey was not carried out prior to the launch of the new BRT system in the City of Cape Town, it became difficult to assess commuters’ preferences,which would have provided City policymakers and planners with an understanding of customer satisfaction of the proposed bus service. The commuting trend of the BRT system in the City indicates that tickets sales and utilisation by commuters is gradually picking up, but one would have expected high commuter engagement in terms of the modernity profile of the BRT system. This study investigated commuters’ (n = 260) satisfaction levels with 30 service quality variables on a self-rated questionnaire, using quantitative research methodology.The study result showed that passengers were not satisfied with the transport fare and the availability or accessibility of ticket sales outlets. In the context of this study, this result implies that the ‘responsiveness and affordability’ variable of the service quality dimensions should be an area of interest and review to City of Cape Town policymakers and planners. Service quality trends in public transport were also highlighted.

scholarly journals Determination of the most appropriate bus rapid transit system for the eThekwini Municipal Area

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Emmanuel Olusegun Adewumi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Travel Time ◽  
Public Transport ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Port Elizabeth

Invariably, a high percentage of the population of South Africa depends on public transport. In order to continue to satisfy commuters in terms of comfort, travel time, reliability of service and traffic congestion, there is a need to improve the efficiency of moving passengers to reduce travel time, delay time and number of stops. In the quest for advancement and improvement in public transport, many countries now embark on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems based on the successful implementation of the system by cities like Curitiba (Brazil) and Bogota (Columbia). Government departments/transport authorities are often faced with the challenge of selecting the most suitable BRT system relative to the unique features of its transport demands and urban layout. Hence, this study proposes the determination of the most appropriate BRT system for the eThekwini Municipal Area (EMA). An in-depth literature review was conducted in order to determine the most adoptable BRT system amongst median, kerb side and segregated BRT systems, taking into consideration cost implications, safety of the passengers, pedestrian crossing, physically challenged commuters, vehicle option and manoeuvres. Physical assessment and critical review of the current operating BRT systems in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in South Africa was employed in this study as well as a critical comparison among these systems. The pros and cons of the three functional BRT systems in South Africa were stated and a way forward for EMA was recommended. Lastly, an assessment of the proposed BRT system in EMA was conducted on the existing Phase 1 and the remaining three phases. The review conducted was based on route inspection, access to property, factors considered in the selection of a BRT system, demand analyses of the routes and the evaluation of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth BRT systems. Guidelines were also provided for the remaining proposed BRT routes which could be adopted by the eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA) in order to enhance a better performance in EMA over the three functional BRT systems in South Africa using the aforementioned criteria.

scholarly journals The Conditions for after Work: Financialization and Informalization in Posttransition South Africa

PMLA ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 127 (4) ◽  
pp. 782-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Maria Makhulu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Global South ◽  
First Century ◽  
Informal Employment ◽  
Shop Floor ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Informal Economies ◽  
Forms Of Life ◽  
Modes Of Life

This essay situates the problem of twenty-first-century work in the global South—specifically, in South Africa—to challenge northern theories of the crisis of work. Addressing the break between Fordism and post-Fordism peculiar to the postcolonial context, it argues that new regimes of work should be understood in relation both to longer histories of colonial resistance to proletarianization (to the racisms of the shop floor) and to colonial Fordisms, as well as to the way these two factors inform the current expansion of informal employment. What practices and forms of life emerge from the precarity of informal economies and informal settlements? How are precarious modes of life connected to and informed by the steady dematerialization of the economy through financialization?

scholarly journals The new BRT system has led to an overall increase in transit-based accessibility to essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic: Empirical evidence from Winnipeg, Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suraj Shirodkar Singh ◽  
Reyhane Javanmard ◽  
Jinhyung Lee ◽  
Junghwan Kim ◽  
Ehab Diab
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Time Budgets ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Transit Network ◽  
Essential Services ◽  
Before And After ◽  
In Transit ◽  
Different Parts

Recently, in Winnipeg, the implementation of new bus rapid transit (BRT) system in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic has raised many concerns, challenging the rationale behind the untimely release. However, the new BRT service can benefit low-income, socio-economically vulnerable, and transit captive passengers who must travel to essential services and work opportunities during the pandemic. This study evaluates whether the new BRT system has positive impacts on accessibility to such essential services during the pandemic. Isochrones with different time budgets as well as times of a day are generated based on high-resolution public transit network via the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data and used for evaluating accessibility benefits before and after the BRT construction. The new BRT service in Winnipeg demonstrates varying accessibility impacts across different parts of the BRT corridor. Areas near dedicated lane-section show a significant increase, whereas areas near non-dedicated lane sections show a decrease in accessibility. Nevertheless, across the whole BRT corridor, the new BRT service presents an overall increase in accessibility to essential services. This demonstrates the positive accessibility benefits of the new BRT service to residents seeking essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic. A decrease in accessibility along some parts suggests the necessity of using local transit improvement strategies (e.g., dedicated lanes) to improve service speed when planning BRT services within urban areas.

scholarly journals A practical theology of liberation: Mimetic theory, liberation theology and practical theology

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel D. Aguilar Ramírez ◽  
Stephan De Beer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Practical Theology ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Global South ◽  
Guatemala City ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Mimetic Theory ◽  
Spatial Justice ◽  
Theology Of Liberation

In this article, the authors bring two personal journeys together: one author’s liberationist journey, sparked by a search for justice and liberation in the slums of Guatemala City, and the other’s lifelong commitment to practical theology and spatial justice in South Africa. A practical theology of liberation is the result of life experiences in countries of the Global South amidst the search for justice and liberation. The worlds that come together in this article are René Girard’s mimetic theory, liberation theology and practical theology. This article raises the question of the cross-contextuality of practical theology and the theological application of mimetic theory to develop innovative theological methodologies that respond to the collective woundedness of the urban context in the Global South.Contribution: The main contribution of this article is the use of three seemingly different theological approaches in conjunction. This article opens the door to inform practical theology with René Girard’s mimetic theory and liberation theology.

scholarly journals TEXT CLUSTERING APPROACH TOWARD COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS TO THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT (BRT) TRANSJATENG PURWOKERTO-PURBALINGGA OPERATIONS

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-298
Author(s):  
Famila Dwi Winati ◽  
Fauzan Romadlon
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Text Clustering ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Public Expectations ◽  
Clustering Approach

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is one of the alternative public transportations in urban areas, which has begun to be implemented in some cities of Indonesia. By finding out the effectiveness of BRT as a mass transportation system, it is necessary to study the expectations of users and non-users of the Trans Jateng Purwokerto-Purbalingga BRT regarding the perceived social, economic, and environmental impacts. This study uses the text Clustering method to group public opinion based on similarities so that it can be analyzed further for policymaking. As a result, the majority of the community gave positive expectations of BRT implementation’s perceived social, economic, and environmental benefits. On the other hand, public opinion on the presence of BRT is not always positive and has a significant impact. Improvements are needed in several aspects that are considered not to meet public expectations to maximize the function of BRT as a substitute for public transportation for private vehicles.

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