I must be honest: I can't remember a time when I thought too fondly of Canadian public transit systems.
Having had to depend on them throughout high school and university, the word "bus" conjures up tense, loathsome memories of waiting for seemingly endless minutes on street corners, bearing the brunt of snow, rain, and wind, and having to endure the nauseating stop-start ride amongst smelly, noisy strangers who inevitably sit too close and invade your personal space.
Now that I've been without a proper public transit system for 7 months, well, I'm singing a new tune.
Buses may not be the most glamorous mean of transportation but at the end of the day, they get the job done. With them in place, thousands of people are able to get to work, school, etc. with little fuss.
Not only that, but countless gallons of petrol are saved from harming the environment and innumerable lives are saved by alleviating traffic flow at peak hours.
All of these perks come to the forefront once you live in a city that tries to function without them in place.
There are are few limited bus routes and train systems to choose from but in general, they are considered dodgy, unreliable, and unsafe.
This creates a whole bundle of problems for the city.
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Problem #1: Traffic During Rush Hours is HORRENDOUS.
My mother always complains about traffic jams in Winnipeg, but those are peanuts compared to the backlogs that happen here daily. At rush hour, it isn't uncommon to sit for 2 hours in order to traverse a 15 minute route.
Cars line highways bumper-to-bumper as far as the eye can see.
On my way back from Pretoria, we sat for 3.5 HOURS in morning traffic to complete a drive that shouldn't have taken more than 40 minutes at most.
Problem #2: More vehicles = More Everything.
To put it another way, the intense amount of vehicles on the roads here creates mountains out of molehills.
Fender benders, stalled vehicles, flat tires, and other traffic nuisances which, under normal circumstances, would be a minor nuisance, inevitably cause huge backups that can add hours onto your drive home.
More cars on the road means more pollution.
Back home, our public transit systems take a huge environmental burden off our city's shoulders, whereas here, the lack of such options is causing massive problems in regards to smog and co2 emmisions.
More vehicles means more accidents and fatalities. It's frightening.
There were over 14, 000 people who died in road accidents in South Africa during last year alone.
To put this in perspective, there where a total of 14, 082 deaths in all of Canada between the years 2000-2004.
Most South Africans strive to be completely off the roads before dark. It's just too risky.
Problem #3: Lack of Public Transit Fosters Environmental Apathy in Commuters.
In developed nations, we can choose from a variety of options to get to places.
We can cycle. Walk/run. Take a bus. Take the tube. Hop in a taxi. Skateboard. Etc, etc.
The Canadian government even participates in an annual "Commuter Challenge", which encourages its employees to give up their car for a week and find a new, environmentally friendly means to get to work.
In Joburg these options are not available to the average person because they are either too expensive (such as private taxis) or simply aren't safe to do on a daily, consistent basis.
This means that the average South African commuter has had to depend solely on a personal vehicle to get them places. For their whole lives, they haven't had the chance to get from point A to B by any other means.
What this translates to is a commuter who refuses to step outside their carefully drawn box.
All the families and friends that I have met during my time here own one car per person. A family of four has four cars. A family of three owns three.
The notion of sharing or carpooling is dismissed with relative distaste. The lifestyle of "one person per vehicle" is so ingrained in their way of life that the thought of having to compromise their schedule or convenience in order to facilitate a group travelling together is too difficult.
A 2006 study of 400 Joburg habitants found that a full 72% would not use public transportation, even if it was improved and safe. Their reason behind this was a "reluctance to give up their cars".
If you're ever in Joburg, take a look around the next time you're stuck in traffic (because without fail, you will end up in traffic).
Guaranteed that 90% of the vehicles you see will only have one occupant.
Granted, a large reason behind why everyone does their own driving is a safety thing. I get it. But my point is that its an unsustainable way of life.
Studies are predicting that in 10 years, Joburg traffic will be double what it is today. Considering their are already struggling with clogged 4 & 5 lane highways at the moment, I actually cannot foresee how the infrastructure will handle such an increase.
The situation is dire enough that the Joburg ministry of transport has a website where members of the public can submit their ideas for traffic reduction. Yeah. It's that bad.
Problem #4: Tourist Frustration.
Unless you rent a car, getting around the city as a tourist is near impossible.
As a visitor here, I don't have a car and consequently, I am permanently grounded unless I can hitch a ride with a friend.
This is so freaking frustrating!!
I relish the days back home where the mall, drugstore, or supermarket, was only a cheap bus ride away. It may not be ideal, but at least the bus offers some way of getting around.
If Joburg (or SA for that matter) wants to keep inciting tourist dollars their way, implementing a solid transit system is a must. Travelling to Africa is already an expensive venture, never mind when you are forced to factor in the costs of private 24/7 transportation.
Problem #5: Lack of Public Transit Results in Band-Aid Solutions
Here's a metaphor for you: think of a well-functioning public transit as a boat that keeps a city afloat.
When the boat is not built well, it springs leaks.
One leads to another, and then to many more.
Before you know it, the city is going down and forced to put band-aids over the holes in a desperate attempt to avoid completely sinking to the bottom.
When really, the proper solution is just to build a new damn boat.
The ministry of transport has tried building more highways, bigger highways, wider highways. They've tossed billion of rands into the "Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project", developing rail systems, creating the Gautrain, and improving road conditions.
All for naught.
All for naught.
Most recently, they've introduced a new "genius" plan: tollbooths.
This white metal structure hanging over the highway is an example of what the new toll stations will look like across the city
42 tolling points are currently being installed along Joburgs busiest highways.
They think that making people pay for the use of the highways will force them to carpool or drive less.
Umm. Yeah... am I the only one not buying this??
All this is going to result in is drivers finding alternate means of getting home.
Back roads and smaller highways are going to become congested. In turn, these roads will need more frequent repairs. The high flow of traffic on these roads that weren't meant to be used as such will, I'm sure, also result in more road injuries and deaths.
Additionally, this is going to increase fraud. No doubt in my mind about that.
Another view of the new toll stations. They were slated to come into use in April 2011, but they aren't up and running as of yet (surprise, surprise...).
The way these new toll booths operate is that their scanner picks up a code that is imprinted into a chip in your licence plate.
This is good in that it removes the need for vehicles to stop and pay a person. You simply drive underneath the booth and it charges you accordingly.
At the end of the month, a bill arrives at your home that details how many times you passed through the toll stations.
Charges range from 2R to 15R per booth.
This could easily add up to extra hundreds of Rands per month for avid highway users.
Imagine being charged an extra $5 a day to use the Perimeter highway to get to work, there and back.
In a country where the majority of people are already struggling to survive financially, how can their government justify charging people to use roads that their tax dollars already went into funding??
It's not their fault that the government can't get their act together transit-wise and is forced to put band-aids on gushing wounds.
These fines are going to force people into driving without legal licences.
For most, the chance/consequences of getting caught will outweigh the burden of paying high monthly toll fees.
Unlicensed drivers are already a huge problem in this country, never mind when you throw in an incentive for them to do so.
Not only that, but the microchips will only be put into Gauteng license plates.
What does this mean? Other provinces, such as Kwazulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, are going to be flooded with car registrations next year. Why register your car in Gauteng and get fined, when you can drive 2 hours North and register with a province that allows you sneak past the toll booths for free?
The other question that comes to mind is: how, exactly, is the government going to charge a driver who doesn't have a permanent address?
A lot of the drivers here live in townships with no fixed address. Or no bank account, for that matter. Suddenly the genius idea of mailing out statements and collecting fees via direct-deposit crumbles apart.
You can bribe your way to a driver's license here now, so why wouldn't there now be a market to buy your way out of having to pay toll fees? To fake license plates without the chips? To pay someone off so the government doesn't charge you for not paying?
When your vehicle is stolen, will you be responsible for paying the toll fees they incur? Who's to say the system doesn't mess up and charges you extra -- how does one go about proving that? The system cannot read chip cards in cars going 180km per hour or higher. Once this information goes viral, will it not encourage more high speed, dangerous driving?
The amount of criminal activity that is possible with the implementation of these new toll stations is staggering.
It really worries me that the Gauteng government either A) realized these possible outcomes and went forward any way, or B) were too short-sighted and ignorant to fully appreciate the devastating consequences this system could create for their city.
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I hope this post has given you some insight into what daily life entails here in Joburg.
At the very least, it should make you think twice about complaining about "having" to walk, bike, or take the bus.
We are privileged to live in a place that offers those options to us at all.
Traffic and transportation issues affect everyone on the planet, and in regards to this topic, I think we have a lot to be thankful for in Canada.
Following along the same vein, my next post will be an introduction to the infamous "Minibus Taxis" and the terror and rage they inspire in the hearts of (white) South Africans everywhere.
I can't wait to hear what y'all have to say!
1 comments:
I still prefer to take my own car. MOM (heart)
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