An evaluation of Rea Vaya and Gautrain, its potentials and impacts on spatial and transportation planning in the City of Johannesburg AB Adegbaju orcid.org 0000-0002-7655-4494 Dissertation accepted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University Supervisor: Prof CB Schoeman Co-supervisor: Prof IM Schoeman Assistant supervisor: Dr TP Moroke Graduation October 2019 29693934 PREFACE This postgraduate research was carried out at the North-West University, Potchefstroom campus, under the supervisions of Prof. C.B. Schoeman of the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management and Prof. I.M. Schoeman of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics respectively. The research was conducted on the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, the capital of the Gauteng Province of South Africa. I, Adedayo Adegbaju do hereby declare that the dissertation with the title ―An evaluation of Rea Vaya and Gautrain, its potentials and impacts on spatial and transportation planning in the City of Johannesburg‖ is my own work and has not been submitted at any University either in whole or in part. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am immensely grateful to everyone that contributed to the success of this work. I am eternally thankful to my parents for the love and elderly counsel from time to time. It did go a long way in spurring me on to see the research through. I am indebted to my brother, Adetola Adegbaju, whose unending financial support was crucial to my personal and academic needs throughout the period of this research. To Professor Ilse Schoeman and Professor Carel Schoeman, I express my profound gratitude for the usual constructive comments and receptive nature during our meetings. I believe I have become better than I was before I started the research, and the extent of your influence is beyond the scope of this research. I could not have prayed for better Supervisors. I equally appreciate the contributions of Professor Faans Steyn of the Department of Statistics, for providing statistical engagements that include the review and approval of questionnaires, as well as the statistical analysis of data. These contributions have largely impacted the quality of the final research output. Most importantly, I remain indebted to my immediate family for the sacrifices and their collective resilience in the face of all odds. Oluwafunmilayo, my wife and best friend, you have been a pillar and a source of strength through thick and thin. I am deeply touched by the unconditional support from my lovely children, Adefolahanmi; Adesola; and Daniel; I thank you for endlessly providing the inspiration for me to keep going. Finally, I appreciate the almighty God, the beginning and the ending of everything, for preserving my life to complete this research. For I believe without ‗HIM‘ I can do or be nothing. ii ABSTRACT The unique urban contexts that emanated from the apartheid history of South Africa informed the transport landscape of the City of Johannesburg. Apartheid‘s divisive spatial planning and land use management policies promoted sprawling and separated labour from work. This was further exacerbated by poor funding of public transport and road designs that encouraged the use of private cars. The democratization of the country in 1994 was the beginning of a new phase in the history of the city. A new approach to policy formulations that entails the provision of public transport as one of the tools to end years of marginalization and inequalities was adopted by the national government. It soon became a policy direction that reflects in planning decisions of all spheres of government. The Rea Vaya BRT and the Gautrain were respectively introduced by the municipal and provincial governments to demonstrate governments‘ commitments to the new policy direction. While the Gautrain was implemented to facilitate elite movement within Gauteng and to crowd investments and economic growths around station nodes; the BRT was provided for marginalized commuters in Soweto, to provide a sustainable alternative to the dominant minibus taxi. Although the two modes (Rea Vaya and Gautrain) have endured almost a decade filled with public sentiments and other issues, this research concludes that most of the challenges are associated with the country‘s historical context and the age of these transport systems. The Gautrain has demonstrated that viable alternatives to the private car can be provided, with its satisfactory feedbacks from users; and some of its station nodes (Sandton, Rosebank and Pretoria) have showed promises of transit-oriented development, one of the project‘s key objectives. The other stations have been unable to stimulate growth due to reasons like non- implementation of their Urban Design Frameworks and lack of public sector investment required to attract private investors. The Rea Vaya, in its third phase of implementation, has been extended further north to Sandton in spite of both its inability to induce modal change and its low ridership figures. The research identifies factors like low peak to base ratio, pricing and the city‘s disjointed urban fabric as some of the reasons for its below average performance. By drawing from the highlights and limitations, the study recommends that public transport provision should be institutionally integrated across and within spheres of government. Similarly, harmonization of the funding structure, better understanding of users‘ needs and travel patterns, underlined with continuity of policy direction and objectives will equally help to achieve optimum outputs. Key words: Bus Rapid Transit, Gautrain, Rea Vaya, Transit Oriented Development, sustainable transport, spatial and transport planning. iii OPSOMMING Die unieke stedelike konteks wat voorgespruit het uit Suid Afrika se geskiedenis van Apartheid het die vervoer landskap in die stad van Johannesburg beïnvloed. Die Apartheid regering se verdelende ruimtelike beplanning en land bestuur praktyke het veroorsaak dat die arbeiders vêr van die werksgeleenthede af moes woon. Hierdie situasie was verder vererger deur swak befondsing van die openbare vervoer stelsel en pad ontwerpe wat die gebruik van privaat voertuie aangemoedig het. ‗n Nuwe fase in die geskiedenis van die stad het in 1994 aangebreek, met die bekendstelling van ‗n demokratiese regering in die land. Die nasionale regering het ‗n nuwe benadering tot beleidsformulering aangeneem in ‗n poging om jare se marginalisering en ongelykhede te beëindig. Die nuwe beleid het voorsiening gemaak vir openbare vervoer. Hierdie nuwe benadering word weerspieël in beplanning besluite op al die gebiede in die regering. Die Rea Vaya BRT en die Gautrain is onderskeidilik deur die munisipale en provinsiale regerings bekendgestel om die regering se toewyding aan die nuwe beleid te demonstreer. Die Gautrain was geïmplementeer om beweging van die bevoorregte individue binne Gauteng te fasiliteer, sowel as om beleggers te lok en ekonomiese groei te bevorder. In teenstelling, die BRT maak vir die gemarginaliseerde pendelaars voorsiening deur ‗n volhoubare alternatief vir die dominante ‗minibus taxi‘ te verskaf. Alhoewel die twee vervoer stelsels (Rea Vaya en Gautrain) vir amper 'n dekade lank publieke opinie en ander kwessies verduur het, kom hierdie navorsing tot die gevolgtrekking dat die meeste uitdagings verband hou met die land se historiese konteks en die ouderdom van hierdie vervoerstelsels. Die Gautrain het bewys dat alternatiewe vir die privaat voertuie aangebied kan word, met bevredigende terugvoer van verbruikers; en sommige stasie-nodusse (Sandton, Rosebank and Pretoria) het beloftes getoon van transito-georiënteerde ontwikkeling, een van die belangrikste doelstellings van die projek. Die ander stasies kon nie groei stimuleer nie weens redes soos die nie-implementering van hul stedelike ontwerp raamwerke en 'n gebrek aan beleggings in die openbare sektor wat nodig is om private beleggers te lok. Die Rea Vaya, wat in sy derde fase van implementering, is verder noord tot by Sandton uitgebrei, ondanks beide die onvermoë om modale veranderinge te bewerkstellig en sy lae ruitersyfers. Die navorsing identifiseer faktore soos 'n lae piek tot basis-verhouding, prysvasstelling en die stedelike struktuur van die stad as 'n paar van die redes vir die ondergemiddelde prestasie. Deur gebruik te maak van die hoogtepunte en beperkings, beveel die studie aan dat voorsiening vir openbare vervoer institusioneel oor die regeringsfere en binne die regeringsfere geïntegreer moet word. Net so sal harmonisasie van die befondsingstruktuur, 'n beter begrip van gebruikers se behoeftes en reis patrone, onderstreep met die kontinuïteit van beleidsrigting en - doelstellings, ook help om optimale uitsette te bereik. iv Sleutel woorde: snelbusdiens, Gautrein, Rea Vaya, Transit georiënteerde Ontwikkeling, volhoubare vervoer, ruimtelike en vervoerbeplanning. v ACRONYMS BEPP Built Environment Performance Plan BRICS Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa CBD Central Business District CoF Corridors of Freedom COGTA Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs CoJ City of Johannesburg CSP Cities Support Programme DEAT Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism DPME Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMF Environmental Management Framework GCR Gauteng City-Region GCRO Gauteng City Region Observatory GDRT Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport GDS Growth and Development Strategy GHHTS Gauteng Household