FACILITIES INVENTORY SURVEY REPORT

Transcription

1 CURRENT PUBLIC TRANSPORT REPORT FACILITIES INVENTORY SURVEY REPORT ZULULAND DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No INTRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS THE STUDY AREA IN CONTEXT METHODOLOGY THE ROAD SYSTEM Road Hierarchy Road Condition PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM Overview Routes Facilites FIELD OBSERVATIONS edumbe Municipality (KZ261) uphongolo Municipality (KZ262) Abaqulusi Municipality (KZ263) Nongoma Municipality (KZ265) Ulundi Municipality (KZ266) CONCLUSIONS ANNEXURES Table 3.1: Listing of minibus Taxi and Bus Facilities...15 Table 3.2: Description of facilities for buses and minibus taxis Table 3.3: Routes as identified by facility Table 3.4: Amenities at Taxi / Bus facilities ZDM PUBLIC TRANSPORT ROUTE MATRIX Figure 1: Inter-rank Routes in the ZDM... 20

3 1. INTRODUCTION Letsunyane Associates (Pty) Ltd were appointed by the Zululand District Municipality (Ref. 18/2/3/2 and 15/2/21/3) to undertake a Public Transport Facility Assessment in the Zululand District Municipality area. This report documents the findings of the study. 2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study relied heavily on the local knowledge of the various public transport operators and associations, as well as Authorities in the study area. Acknowledgement is given in particular for the information and assistance given by the Executive Councillors representing the Local Municipalities. The extensive assistance of all the chairpersons of the taxi associations in the District is gratefully acknowledged. 3. THE STUDY AREA IN CONTEXT The study area is the area within the boundaries of the Zululand District Municipality, in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, and comprises the Local Municipalities of edumbe (KZ261), uphongolo (KZ262), Abaqulusi (KZ263), Nongoma (KZ265) and Ulundi (KZ266). The study area is shown in Figure 1. The area is inhabited by a total population of around (WSDP 2001). The dynamics of the five Local Municipalities are quite varied due to historical, geographical and economic factors. The following are a few of the main characteristics:- The area is largely rural in nature. The area has a total population of around (WSDP 2001). The main centres are Paulpietersburg (edumbe Municipality), Pongola (uphongolo Municipality), Vryheid (Abaqulusi Municipality), Nongoma (Nongoma Municipality) and Ulundi (Ulundi Municipality), with a number of smaller towns/settlement areas throughout the region. The main work opportunities (largely Provincial/Municipal Government) are in the urban/peri-urban centres, with agriculture (largely forestry) in the rural areas. Tourism is also a growing source of employment in the area. 4. METHODOLOGY The scope of this initial phase of the Current Public Transport Record (CPTR) study required the gathering of local public transport facility information and the presentation of that information in GIS format where possible. The information came from the following sources:- Discussions with the Local Authorities. Discussions with public transport operators. Field surveys of transport infrastructure. The information obtained was not to a high level of detail as the intention of the study was to be preliminary in nature rather than highly detailed. The methodology adopted in carrying out the study followed the route of initial consultation with the Local Authorities, who provided valuable information regarding the local public transport structures, crucial for the successful execution of the study. The information gathering from the Local Authorities was followed by extensive consultation with road-based public transport operators thus identified. The leadership of the taxi associations in particular were extremely helpful in providing information on the routes covered by their associations, as well as the locations of the ranks and major stops along each route.

4 The background information on the routes and stops having been gathered, field surveys were then conducted. The field surveys served a three-fold purpose: Physically confirm the routes/stops identified by the operators The positions of ranks/stops identified were accurately logged, and each facility was photographed Where routes physically identified in the field were not on declared roads (ie not on the Provincial road database), these routes were captured for later addition to the GIS database. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology was used to capture the routes and ranks/stops in the field, and the information so gathered was imported into a GIS database. 5. THE ROAD SYSTEM 5.1 Road Hierarchy Apart from the urban centres that were previously Transitional Local Councils (TLCs), the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport (KZN-DOT) has historically administered the road system in the study area. As such, the standard KZN-DOT road hierarchy system has been applied, which comprises the following:- Main Roads (P) District Roads (D) Local Roads (L) Community Access Roads (A) At the highest level are the National Roads (N), which fall under the National Department of Transport. The only National Road (N) in the area is the N2 running east-west through the uphongolo Local Municipality (KZ261) in the north. Here the N2 is not of a high standard, consisting generally of a two-way single carriageway road with climbing lanes provided in some but not all places requiring them. Main Roads (P) are mostly surfaced two-lane two-way roads, though a large proportion are gravel. Regulatory and guidance signs are generally in place as well as painted road markings on the surfaced roads. District Roads (D) are mostly gravel two-lane two-way roads, though some are surfaced, with a lower standard of road signage than the Main Roads (P). Local Roads (L) and Community Access Roads (A) are gravel roads to a lower geometric standard than District Roads (D). 5.2 Road Condition Observations of the condition of the road network were limited to those roads that constitute public transport routes in the area. The condition of the road system varies from good through to very poor. It was observed that most of the roads are reliable and passable most of the time, barring a few of the gravel roads which can be difficult to navigate during rainy periods. In some areas, no major road maintenance has been undertaken for many years, possibly due to lack of funds. The condition of local roads varies, with some adequate, but many in very poor condition. 6. PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM 6.1 Overview There are three public transport modes, namely bus, taxi and bakkie-taxi.

5 Currently, bus services are generally run by private operators. In all areas they largely provide a long-distance service between towns/development centres. The dominant mode of public transport in the District is minibus taxi. Taxis generally provide a service from the rural or peri-urban settlement areas towards the urban shopping and employment centres, but also feed the ranks in these centres with passengers bound for longer distance destinations. Given these dynamics, the current status quo is that there are ranks at the major urban/development centres, from each of which several routes originate. Also developing in smaller centres are a number of smaller (generally informal) ranks which act as collector/feeder ranks for the larger ranks. 6.2 Routes The positions of these various ranks can be viewed on the GIS. Based on interviews with various public transport operators at the ranks identified, routes in the District were defined. These routes have been captured onto GIS, with the routes coded and numbered according to taxi association. This represents around 80 individual routes, which are available for viewing through the GIS. 6.3 Facilites Each route was driven with the intention of recording location and physical condition information for each public transport (PT) facility along the route. Facilities ranged from formal ranks at the highest level, down to informal bus/taxi bays/stops along each route. Although it is a generally known fact that taxis in particular do not necessarily stop at designated spots, the PT operators were very helpful in distinguishing major designated stops, at which fair numbers of passengers board and alight, from the numerous minor/informal stops. 7. FIELD OBSERVATIONS As stated above, the District comprises five local Municipalities, each with its own taxi association. Some of the municipalities were found to be served by more than one taxi association. The rank information gathered in the field is presented in summary form in the table below. A total of 1155 facilities were logged, with only 35 (3%) being formal facilities. 25 of these 1155 facilities are ranks, formal or informal. The vast majority of the facilities are in poor condition, with only 49 (4,2%) paved. Only 24 (2.1%) have electricity, 8 have telephone, 5 have offices and 4 have ablutions.

6 TABLE 1 : Summary of Taxi Operations In The District MUNICIPALITY edumbe (KZ261) uphongolo (KZ262) TAXI ASSOCIATION(S) NUMBER OF NUMBER OF RANKS ROUTES 1 FORMAL INFORMAL edumbe Taxi Owners Association 7 1 uphongolo Taxi Owners Association Vryheid Taxi Owners Association Mondlo Taxi Owners Association 5 1 Abaqulusi (KZ263) Gluckstadt Taxi Owners Association 6 2 Khambi Taxi Owners Association 3 Louwsburg Taxi Owners Association 4 1 Nongoma (KZ265) Nongoma Taxi Owners Association Ulundi Taxi Owners Association Ulundi (KZ266) Denny Dalton Taxi Owners Association 6 1 Babanango Taxi Owners Association includes both local and rank-to-rank routes Tables 2 and 3 below present an overall analysis of the data gathered for each Municipality. The full data is available for viewing in GIS database. TABLE 2 : Municipality edumbe (KZ261) uphongolo (KZ262) Abaqulusi (KZ263) Nongoma (KZ265) Ulundi (KZ266) Count of Facilities by Type Facility Status Formal Informal Minibus/ Taxi Rank Bus Terminal Facility Type Bakkie- Taxi Boarding/ Alighting Holding Area On/Off Street On Off TABLE 3 : Count of Facilities by Condition

7 Municipality edumbe (KZ261) uphongolo (KZ262) Abaqulusi (KZ263) Abaqulusi (KZ263) Ulundi (KZ266) Facility Condition Paved Amenities at Facilities Poor Fair Good Yes No Electricity Telephone Office Ablutions More detailed information is presented in tabular form in the Annexure at the end of this report.

8 7.1 edumbe Municipality (KZ261) edumbe Municipality is served by one taxi association, the edumbe Taxi Association. There is one informal rank in Paulpietersburg serving the entire municipality, with several routes originating from this rank. Photo 1: Paulpietersburg Taxi Rank The Paulpietersburg rank consists of an off-street open space in front of some shops in a busy shopping area. There is insufficient space to accommodate all taxis, and taxi traffic spills over onto the street, especially during peak times. The vast majority (97,5%) of the PT facilities in the edumbe area are informal stopping points along the routes, usually at junctions or intersections. A large number are shared facilities between bus and minibus/taxi modes, with only a few being exclusively bus facilities. Of the 197 facilities recorded in the area, only 7 were observed to be in fair condition (only 3 paved), the remainder being in poor condition. There are only 3 facilities with electricity, and 1 with telephone facility. Although the taxi association has an office with telephone, electricity and toilet, this office is not located at the rank.

9 7.2 uphongolo Municipality (KZ262) The uphongolo Taxi Association is the sole association controlling the taxi service in uphongolo Municipality. There are three ranks in the area, one of which is informal. The formal ranks are a local and a long distance rank in the town of Pongola, adjacent to each other. The are only three main taxi routes in the area, two of which run along the N2 National road between the town of Pongola and the settlement of Belgrade. The third route moves passengers between Pongola and the township of Ncotshane. The informal rank mentioned above is a collection point at the entrance to Ncotshane. Photo 3: Pongola Long Distance Taxi Rank Photo 2: Pongola Local Taxi Rank Photo 4: Pongola Township Local Taxi Rank Photo 5: Godlolwayo Taxi Stop (Turning Area)

10 7.3 Abaqulusi Municipality (KZ263) Abaqulusi Municipality has five taxi associations, namely the Vryheid, Mondlo, Khambi, Gluckstadt and Louwsburg Taxi Associations, operating out of five ranks. The Vryheid Local and Mondlo ranks are formalised facilities, while the Vryheid Long Distance, Gluckstadt, Coronation, Hlobane and Louwsburg ranks are informal. Mondlo, Gluckstadt, Coronation, Hlobane and Louwsburg act as feeder ranks for Vryheid, at which the main work and shopping opportunities in the area are located, and also act as feeders for the long distance rank in Vryheid. Photo 6: Vryheid Local Taxi Rank Photo 7: Vryheid Long Distance Taxi Rank Photo 8: Mondlo Taxi Rank Photo 9: Gluckstadt Local Taxi Rank Photo 10: Louwsburg Local Taxi Rank

11 7.4 Nongoma Municipality (KZ265) Nongoma Municipality is served by a single taxi association, operating out of the town of Nongoma. The association operates four ranks, one of which is a formal rank in the town of Nongoma. There are 20 routes operated by the taxi association, all feeding the main formal rank in Nongoma. There is a separate long distance taxi rank, with taxis running from here mainly to Ulundi, and also to destinations beyond. Photo 11: Nongoma Local Taxi Rank Photo 12: Nongoma Long Distance Taxi Rank Photo 13: Local To Hospital Taxi Rank Photo 14: Buxedene (Informal) Local Taxi Rank

12 7.5 Ulundi Municipality (KZ266) The Ulundi Municipality is served by three taxi associations, based in Ulundi, Babanango and Denny Dalton. Babanango and Denny Dalton act mainly as commuter services, and as feeders for the Ulundi rank. There are 13 local routes operated by the Ulundi Taxi Association, 7 routes run by the Babanango Taxi Association, and 6 local routes run by the Denny Dalton Taxi Association, with several long distance routes to various destinations adding to the total. Photo 15: Babanango Local Taxi Rank Photo 16: Ulundi Taxi Rank Photo 17: Ceza Taxi Rank Photo 18: Kwandayela (Informal) Local Taxi Rank Photo 18: Kwaduvela (Informal) Taxi Rank Photo 19: Emahlabathini Taxi Rank 8. CONCLUSIONS The main conclusions that can be drawn from the exercise are:-

13 There are a large number of public transport (PT) facilities in the District, ranging from ranks to informal drop-off/pick-up points along routes. The vast majority of PT facilities are informal and in poor condition. There are 25 ranks in the area, with only 7 of these formal. The district is in need of improvements to its PT facilities. Further more detailed work is required to determine the condition of the PT facilities, passenger handling capacities versus actual passenger volumes, origin/destination surveys, routes and their condition, and other facility criteria that can be utilised in determining warrants for improvements, and prioritisation thereof.