Locals a step closer to transport control

The Department of Transport will consider devolving transport functions to provinces or metropolitan authorities.

Late in 2017 the City of Cape Town announced it intended to take over the management of commuter rail to avert the “total collapse” of rail services in the city. Rail is considered the backbone of public transport in Cape Town.

The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) is responsible for delivering rail services. Its subsidiary, Metrorail, has been under pressure because its rail commuter services have been in a serious state of decline caused by decades of underinvestment, outdated technology, the loss of critical skills, deferred maintenance and corruption.

Responding to a written question in Parliament last week from Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota, Transport Minister Blade Nzimande said that the National Land Transport Act allowed for transport functions to be assigned to the most appropriate sphere of government.

In alignment with the Integrated Urban Development Framework, a directive of the National Development Plan, the department will “develop a devolution strategy that would allow [it] to consider the viability of devolving transport functions to provinces or metropolitan authorities”, said Nzimande.

Lekota had asked the minister whether his department was amenable to negotiations leading to the City of Cape Town taking over the service of Metrorail.

Nzimande said it was anticipated that the devolution strategy would prescribe the preparatory work provincial or metropolitan authorities need to undertake before the function will be considered transferred.

“As part of the rail devolvement strategy, the provincial or metropolitan authorities should be supported to build a business case based on undertaking a due diligence exercise to determine the status quo, a clear direction on the role of rail, including the resources required to manage and oversee the function, the service levels, quality and reliability envisaged, how connectivity and integration will be improved and how budgets will be better allocated.

“The strategy will also investigate specific performance standards and realistic targets to be negotiated between the affected province, metropolitan authorities and the department, including Prasa,” said Nzimande.

In 2017 Brett Herron, Cape Town’s mayoral committee member responsible for transport, said under the city’s plan Metrorail would continue to provide the transport service, while the metro would maintain and operate the infrastructure.