Browsing by Subject "Transport Studies"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 43
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    A GIS based planning support system for inclusionary housing profitability optimisation in Cape Town, South Africa
    (2018) Krause, Philip; Behrens, Roger; Zuidgeest, Mark
    Apartheid era legislation, along with automobile-oriented city planning practices, have left legacies of race/class-linked spatial inequality, and unsustainable land-use transport inter-relationships in post-Apartheid South African cities. Most poor urban communities still live in peripheral settlements, which are far from employment, education, and social opportunities. Consequently, these communities are reliant on public transit services which are inadequate and often unsafe. Despite substantial democratic era public transit investment, this automobile-oriented spatial legacy, rapid urbanisation and a growing middle class have contributed to increased automobile ownership and severe traffic congestion. This, along with inner-city and surrounding precinct regeneration programmes, guided by neo-liberal market-friendly agendas, have contributed towards gentrification and consequent displacement of poorer communities from the few remaining central, but previously affordable, precincts. Intervention is required to halt this trend, and to enable poorer communities’ return to central urban neighbourhoods. Inclusionary housing in private sector housing developments could be one such intervention. Since 2007, national and municipal authorities have devoted resources to developing inclusionary housing policies; over a decade later, none have progressed beyond draft state. A core challenge has been establishing mechanisms that ensure sufficient flexibility to accommodate widely differing market conditions between precincts. Decisions by local authorities/private property developers to grant concessions/pursue projects are influenced by constraining factors applicable to the particular land parcels considered. The ease and rigour of such decision-making at both a policy and implementation level could arguably be enhanced by a GIS (geographic information system) based PSS (planning support system), that is capable of analysing spatial and non-spatial factors on multiple land parcels. This could enable a comparison of the impact that concessions (in exchange for inclusion of affordable units) may have on the financial viability of projects. The research objective of this dissertation was to establish the technical feasibility of developing such a GIS-based inclusionary housing profitability assessment PSS, capable of utilising existing GIS data (maintained by City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality), and which is capable of aiding local authorities and property developers, and ultimately, low-income communities. In conducting this research, a system intending to meet this objective was developed. Through engagement with stakeholders, five case study sites were identified. These were analysed using the system, allowing assessment of their suitability for inclusionary housing, while also allowing for the performance of the system itself to be evaluated. Case study findings suggest that moderately wealthy neighbourhoods are best suited to inclusionary housing projects, as the impact of cross-subsidisation appeared strongest. Project viability was found to be highly sensitive to market conditions, highlighting the importance of using accurate and up-to-date market data. Ultimately, it was concluded that stakeholders see value in the development of a GIS based inclusionary housing PSS, but for the system to truly meet its objective of aiding inclusionary housing policy development and implementation decisions, additional functionality would be required.
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    A Location - Allocation Model For Pedestrian Footbridge infrastructure: A Case Study on the South Africa's National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) Network in Gauteng
    (2020) Mabe, Malesiba Millicent; Zuidgeest, Marcus
    Road fatalities are one of the leading causes of unnatural deaths in developing countries, such as South Africa. According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (2017), the number of road traffic fatalities were recorded to be 11 676 in the year 2016 and 42.6% of these road traffic fatalities involved pedestrian. According to the National Road Safety Strategy 2016 – 2030 most pedestrian crashes are due to illegal pedestrian crossings mainly across high speed roads (highways) (Department of Transport, 2011). The research study aims to develop a geo-spatial model to determine the most suitable location to allocate pedestrian footbridge infrastructure along the South African National Road Agency Limited (SANRAL) network in Gauteng Province. Previously road planning and design in South Africa followed international best practices, with development of the highway road system mainly orientated to serve motorised transport by primarily providing infrastructure for vehicular traffic along the highways , as pedestrians and highways were not expected to coexist in any proximity to each other. The presence of pedestrians along highways can no longer be ignored and there is a great need to overcome the highly fragmented spatial planning formed by the apartheid policies. For most non-motorised transport (NMT) users in South Africa, highways offer the shortest and most efficient direct routes, but also represent a major obstacle for many pedestrians who are separated by them. Limited studies on the location and allocation of the pedestrian footbridge for pedestrians are reported in the literature, further research in this field should be considered, especially along the SANRAL network where there are high number of residential areas along high-speed roads, this behaviour is unique and common in South Africa. Based on a literature review the factors affecting the location and allocation of pedestrian footbridges were identified, the following were factors identified: population density (serviced by the pedestrian footbridge), land use activities, socio-economic characteristics of the population (e.g. Gender, employment, race, and income level), crash hotspots/statistics (along the route), distance to access bridge and vehicle traffic volume along the route. From these factors spatial data was gathered to carry out spatial multi-criteria analyses (SMCA). The results from the spatial analysis showed that high population densities adjacent to highway, accessibility and land use are key in the location of pedestrian footbridge. The results also show that there is a strong correlation between: land use diversity, socio-economic, crash hotspots/statistics (along the route), vehicle traffic volume and population density (serviced by the pedestrian footbridge). The higher an area has these factors, the Higher the Pedestrian Footbridge location index (high pedestrian footbridge location demand), hence the recommendation to allocate in those locations.
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    A study into Healthcare Service Location Problems, Location and Allocation in the Inanda area
    (2020) Naidoo, Krishantha; Zuidgeest, Marcus
    Inanda is a predominantly rural area located on the northern coast of the province of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. It is bordered by the areas of Phoenix, Verulam and Tongaat. In the context of healthcare accessibility in the Inanda area, the research aimed at investigating the problem in service location planning. This was done by investigating level of accessibility to existing healthcare facilities available to the residents of Inanda. Following the classification of accessibility problems, recommendations were made on where the facility locations can be improved or expanded to provide better accessibility in terms of location-allocation. Literature that has been reviewed focused on geographic location, GIS and accessibility measures, spatial accessibility, models used to test accessibility, service location planning and accessibility measures and metrics so as to provide a background and precedent for the service location planning carried out in the research. The research aimed to confirm that accessibility to the healthcare facilities is indeed a problem and to propose alternative strategies to overcome the accessibility problems identified. The access to healthcare service locations is dependent on a number of factors. Some of these factors include travel time and distance, available capacity at facilities, existing road network, and provision or lack thereof of an efficient public transport system. This accessibility to the health service locations was assessed by using available GIS information on healthcare facilities and using accessibility analysis to identify problems in terms of the services location as well as additional location-allocation of current and additional facilities. The analysis was based on the assumption that all service locations have unlimited capacity. Flowmap was used as the tool to analyse the GIS data and conduct various accessibility models. The different models were Expansion Model Analysis, Relocation Model Analysis, Catchment Area and Clinic Allocation Analysis, Catchment Profile, Market share of Supply Locations, Regular Proximity Count, Average Distance in Competition, Proximity Count in Competition, Lowest Mean Trip Cost Alternate, Second Best Catchment Distance and Pareto Cover Set. The results of the research showed that while the locations of the existing healthcare facilities are not ideal, most are accessible to the majority of the Inanda residents. The information on actual capacity available at each of the locations was not available at the time of the research being carried out and would be worthwhile to research in the future.
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    A Total Social Cost Approach to Public Transport Planning in South Africa
    (2023) Nkosi, Muzi; Zuidgeest, Marcus
    Public transport has a significant role in addressing economic, social and environmental issues resulting from motorised mobility. Motorised travel, including that offered by public transport, has positive and negative impacts. It is particularly true in the case of public transport that the magnitude of the impacts is a function of how resources are allocated as well as of the spatial arrangement of transport options to service the demand. In the past, the allocation of modes of travel to service demand along corridors has primarily been based on the evaluation of marginal economic benefits. The emphasis is placed on net economic costs, despite the presence of external costs generated by the transport system and that are ultimately borne by society. External costs include costs due to accidents, pollution, noise, visual intrusions and amenity losses. Appraising transport interventions solely on the basis of net economic benefits (operator costs) is insufficient to meet the goals set out in the White Paper on National Transport Policy, which requires the provision of transport infrastructure and services to be in line with sustainability goals (DoT, 1996 & 2017). Fundamentally, Section 24 of the Constitution bestows ecologically sustainable development the status of a human right. This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of a total social cost (TSC) approach to guide the selection of a public transport mode to service passenger travel demand along a given corridor. By definition, total social costs comprise internal and external costs. Internal costs include all the costs borne directly by the consumer of the good or service in question, whilst external costs are borne by society, including costs such as the risk of accidents and emissions. The external costs can be significant. For example, it is estimated that, in the European Union, the proportion of external costs as a percentage of GDP ranges from 3.4% in Norway to over 7% in Portugal and Luxemburg (European Commission, 2019). Welfare theory argues that an optimal price charged to the users should also reflect external costs, and the failure to internalise external costs means that the use of the transport system is inefficient (Maibach et al., 2008). To this end, the work in this thesis is important because it may be used to facilitate the internalisation of public transport-related costs through the use of regulations-based and/or market-based instruments. In this thesis, the effectiveness of the total social cost (TSC) approach to guide the provision of transport infrastructure and services was evaluated against the conventional modal hierarchy approach for the development of the Atteridgeville-Pretoria CBD corridor. The total social cost (TSC) approach suggest that effective road-based public transport modes for the 18 km corridor are as follows, measured in terms of passengers per hour per direction: • minibus taxi (0-2 000), iv | P a g e • standard bus (2 000- 4 000), • articulated bus (4 000- 8 000), and • BRT standard bus greater 6 500. The most effective mode for the Atteridgeville-Pretoria CBD corridor turned out to be the BRT standard bus when assessed using the total social cost approach. On the other hand, it was found to be an articulated bus when applying the modal hierarchy approach. Society would pay R4.70 to produce a passenger-kilometre of BRT standard bus service. However, if the assessment had been only based on marginal operator costs, the articulated bus would cost the least when compared to the other technologies. The operator costs would amount to R3.05 in order to produce a passengerkilometre of articulated bus service. However, the marginal total social cost for an articulated bus was R5.20, which is higher in comparison to that of the BRT standard bus service. In addition, the study found that marginal external cost (measured rand per passenger-km) ranged from 0.6% for a commuter rail service to 6% for a minibus taxi. The failure of planning approaches to capture these external costs and user costs might have undesired consequences in the long term. For instance, for the Atteridgeville- Pretoria CBD corridor case study, when assessing based-on operator cost, it was estimated that the effective mode is the articulated bus. However, when assessed for total social costs, it was the BRT standard bus. The total social cost imposed by the articulated bus resulted from high user costs compared to the BRT standard bus. From the analysed corridor, the total social cost approach is important in unpacking the trade-off required to determine the transport mode required to service demand along a corridor. The modal hierarchy does not explicitly detail the trade-offs between the operator, user and external costs. The lack of detail might then result in unintended consequences in the long term.
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    An assessment of the effectiveness of speed humps as a traffic calming measure for accident reduction in Durban
    (2020) Monyatsi, Lemohang; Vanderschuren, Marianne
    EThekwini municipality has been allocating millions of rands each year for speed humps as a traffic calming measure, to curb rat-running and ensure pedestrian safety in the city. Since 2012, the city has spent R42.1 million of its capital budget on speed humps. Despite all traffic calming efforts, there hasn't been significant changes in the city's total accidents. Between 2000 and 2015, the city's total crashes has never been below 50 000 per annum. In terms of injuries, the same trend can be observed. Person injuries have been increasing year-on-year since 2012. To date, there hasn't been a study conducted by EThekwini Municipality to assess the effectiveness of these speed humps implemented across the city. At the moment, despite the city's annual commitment to implement traffic calming, particularly in the form of speed humps, the city does not have an idea as to whether traffic calming measures put in place are successful or not, or whether they are effecting any changes at all. This research, therefore, aims to use information available to assess changes in specific roads, i.e. roads that have been traffic calmed. The study will look at these numbers which are key performance indicators before and after the implementation of speed humps. This study will assess the impact of reactive (responsive to requests) traffic calming in the form of speed humps using accident data. The assessment will look at changes relating to the number of crashes before and after implementation of speed humps, it will also focus on changes in the severity of accidents involved. The research will study changes in relation to the types of accident involved particularly pedestrians. These key performance indicators (KPIs) will be used to assess changes and answer the question of effectiveness.
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    An analysis of residential trip generation in Cape Town
    (1974) Pas, Eric Ivan; King, W H
    Some of the factors contributing to the growth of a 'transportation problem' in Cape Town are outlined, and the main trends are illustrated. A brief introduction to the Urban Transportation Planning Process is presented, and the importance of the trip generation sub-model within the conventional traffic forecasting model is highlighted. A review of past and current practice in the analysis of residential trip generation is presented. The least-squares and category analysis techniques are compared, and the dummy variable method is briefly described. The unit of analysis to be used in the development of residential trip generation models is discussed. The independent variables frequently incorporated in models of residential trip-making are examined, and their effects on home-based trip generation are analysed. Some of the problems associated with the development of regression models are examined. The planning and execution of a home questionnaire survey of households in the Cape Town area is described.
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    Application of rules of transportation planning based on principles of transport justice developed by Karel Martens in Windhoek
    (2020) Nashilongo, Mweneni; Zuidgeest, Marcus
    Transportation planning over the years focused on providing mobility for car users. The focus on mobility has left people who cannot afford automobiles without access to different activities within their societies. The lack of access, in turn, resulted in social exclusion. In the book ‘Transport Justice' Martens showed that the distinct social meaning of the transport good lies in the accessibility. And therefore, accessibility should be the focus of transportation planning to mitigate lack of access and in turn social exclusion. Moreover, Martens developed principles of justice for transportation planning which focuses on identifying groups of people experiencing accessibility shortfalls to help planners focus resources towards those people who are socially excluded due to inadequate transportation systems. This paper aimed to use the principles of justice for transportation planning to identify population groups experiencing insufficient accessibility in the City of Windhoek by assessing potential mobility and accessibility in the city. Additionally, the paper aimed to evaluate how well the rules apply to a small city with a different land use and transport system to the Amsterdam case study from the book ‘Transport Justice'. To assess the transport system, the population of Windhoek was divided into groups based on location, income, and modal split. The accessibility levels and potential mobility levels for each population group per mode were then determined using four accessibility measures and the Potential Mobility Index (PMI-score). The groups were then assigned under 50%, 30%, and 10% accessibility thresholds based on their respective accessibility levels. Under each threshold, groups that contributed the most to the unfairness of the transportation system were identified and ranked based on their respective Accessibility Fairness Index scores (AFI). The results showed that most public transport dependent population groups contributed to the Windhoek transportation system unfairness. These groups are located in Havana, Okuryangava, Wanaheda, and Goreangab at the fringes of the city with low-income residents. Even with limited data, the application of the principles to Windhoek yielded an insightful overview of accessibility in within the city that showed gross inequalities in accessibility to jobs between the car owners and public transport users and between low income and high income earners. The application of the principles of justice for transportation planning produced comprehensible insight on the effects of the transportation system on accessibility to employment in Windhoek. The insight has shown that theory and principles developed by Martens can be useful in the African context where there are significant disparities in accessibility.
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    Assessing the transportation of liquid fuels in South Africa using multi-criteria decision analysis: a conceptual framework and case study
    (2016) Coelho, Marco; Vanderschuren, Marianne
    With the recent unprecedented growth of many African economies, infrastructure investment has been flooding into the continent. Two key areas experiencing large growth in infrastructure development are the transport and energy sectors. This trend also continues to hold true in the South African development framework. The theme of this thesis encompasses both subjects of energy and transportation infrastructure which feature prominently in the countries development plans. When energy is discussed in South Africa, it is usually in the context of power generation and electricity distribution. This study focuses on another key component of the energy sector in the form of liquid fuel. Most of this energy is consumed for transportation purposes. The energy consumption of the transport sector in South Africa is large, totalling around 28% of Total Final Consumption (TFC) in the national energy balances. The bulk of this energy demand (97%) is in the form of liquid fuels, accounting for 84% of the national liquid fuel demand. This thesis focusses on the investigation of a Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) model, which can be used to aid decision makers in the planning and assessment of liquid fuel transportation projects. A key feature of this thesis is the incorporation of a stochastic analysis in the MCDA model. There are two key motivations for assimilating a stochastic analysis in this investigation. The first one is the evaluation of incorporating such an analysis in an MCDA, as opposed to a more traditional sensitivity analysis. The second motivation is to assess the value of employing stochastic analysis as an input method for analysing a decision problem, where comprehensive field data can be substituted for a relevant range of simulated data. This thesis proposes a model which integrates the MCDA and stochastic analysis in the hope that it would provide a faster and more cost effective alternative for assessing certain liquid fuel transportation problems.
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    Black spot analysis : infrastructure impacts on black spots in the Western Cape N1
    (2014) Dinga, Nasiphi; Vanderschuren, Marianne
    This thesis discusses the infrastructural, vehicular and environmental factors that contribute towards road accidents. The role of infrastructure in improving road safety is the primary focus of the research, as infrastructure influences the driving experience. Road design and geometry are important for the consistency of highway performance. Road curvature, paved shoulders and the presence of an at grade intersection influence the drivers’ perception of the highway. The Laingsburg Beaufort West N1 highway has a high incidence of accidents, namely single vehicle accidents. For this reason, the road section has been classified as a hazardous location. These fatal accidents may be influenced by the infrastructural and geometrical factors of the highway. Western Cape geographical data was analysed for the period 2000 to 2007, to investigate the infrastructural and geometrical factors that influence the high accident rate. This was done through an ArcGis analysis, which gave insight into the properties of each of the fatal accidents. In order to get a level of confidence from the findings of the ArcGis analysis, a road safety audit was conducted. This was done through a general inspection of the N1 highway between Laingsburg and Beaufort West, which included driving through the road section at a constant speed, and completing a checklist of the operating elements of the highway. The road safety audit revealed that infrastructural problems (lack of guardrails, sign posts located close to highway) and geometrical factors (average paved shoulder width, single carriageway roads, and dangerous intersections) were present on the road. The Laingsburg Beaufort West analysis was the primary focus of the research. Data for the years 2010 to 2013, which was updated, was obtained from SANRAL and investigated for accident types and potential hotspots. An ArcGis analysis was also performed on the data. Fatal accidents were analysed, to determine whether the Provincial Government of the Western Cape would meet their accident reduction goals of reducing accidents by 50% between the years 2009 and 2014. A high incidence of fatal pedestrian accidents was observed in the Khayelitsha area. Recommendations include the relocation of poles and signs, increasing the paved shoulder width, installation of guardrails along the entire highway, as well as provision of pedestrian bridges and walkways in the Khayelitsha area.
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    A comparative study of different evaluation techniques for appraising alternative transportation plans
    (1981) Crook, Roger Alan; Müller, O H
    This thesis studies the evaluation element of the general transportation planning process from a broad systems perspective. Evaluation linkages are identified with the other activities of the planning process which, if not recognised and accounted for, can unnecessarily restrict the efficiency of plan evaluation thereby reducing the effectiveness of the evaluation element as an aid to decision making. The nature and scope of the evaluation element is examined in some detail. Certain key aspects are discussed; the value framework that is used to assess plan performance, the principles of measurement used therein, and some procedural steps are put forward to guide the selection of appropriate criteria to indicate plan performance. The latter part of the thesis is devoted to comparing the capabilities and limitations of six different evaluation techniques, namely; cost benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness technique, ranking and rating matrices, utility analysis and goals-achievement matrix. As a conclusion to the thesis, it is felt that due to the divergent nature of transportation planning each of the foregoing methods without exception, has its relative strengths and weaknesses. The aspects of robustness and weakness of each methodology are shown to be a reflection of certain fundamental paradoxical requirements that runs through the whole planning process. It is these conflicting requirements that consequently neutralise any one method from being totally effective. Consequently, for an evaluation to be comprehensive, complex transportation problems should be evaluated in two stages. The primary evaluation should be undertaken with the "most appropriate" methodology followed with a supplementary evaluation augmenting any deficiency in the initial evaluation.
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    Delivering urban transport by improving decision making : lessons from a city, lessons for a city
    (1998) Kane, Lisa Adele; De Kock, Mike
    This thesis starts from the position that the enterprise of transport planning is failing to deliver a transport system which fully meets the needs of urban dwellers. Criticisms of the process are presented and it is argued that one reason for the lack of delivery is the insufficient attention paid by transport planning professionals, and researchers, to the decision-making process. The nature of decision-making is explored by reference to various theoretical models of decision-making, and it is concluded that decision-making in an existing situation must be comprehensively described, before recommendations for its improvement can be made. Cape Town is chosen as the city for investigation. Checkland's Soft Systems Methodology is used for describing urban transport decision-making in Cape Town, and the approach is informed by seventeen in-depth interviews and forty-five questionnaires with decision-makers. The analysis yields insights which are categorised into four areas: issues of institutional re-organisation and funding; issues of politician involvement; issues of change in officials; issues of public involvement. An action plan is developed from the insights.
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    Effects of feeder network operations on trunk-feeder network performance: a case study of Mitchells Plain, Cape Town
    (2017) Birungi, Claire; Zuidgeest, Mark; Schalekamp, Herrie
    In South Africa, more than 65% of commuters use public transport every day. However, the public transport system which commonly takes the form of a trunk-feeder network is not structured to meet the needs of the different users. Taxis which are informal serve as feeders to an interchange while the trunk services depart the interchange in a scheduled formal manner. Because of this difference in the nature in which the two public transport services operate, it renders the intermodal system uncoordinated. It thus makes it difficult for transport planners to coordinate unscheduled feeder services to the scheduled trunk services. This study investigated how the feeder public transport service configurations and operations on trunk bus services can be integrated and coordinated. The research employed an agent-based simulation tool to model and simulate trunk-feeder operations and further investigate how the configuration and operational characteristics of the trunk-feeder public transport system impact the passenger travel performance. The modelled intermodal operations mimicked typical trunk-feeder operations as follows: passenger arrival at stops to wait for taxis; passengers boarding and alighting along the feeder route; transferring passengers alighting from taxis; and walking through the interchange to connect to their respective trunk services so as to reach their destinations. The output of the validated base simulation model i.e. system characteristics, configurations and parameters were utilized to determine the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) in the system. The analysis of the KPIs showed that there is indeed no co-ordination between feeder arrivals and trunk departures, and that this is mostly a result of inefficiencies in current operations in the feeder system. Scenarios were then developed to improve the trunk-feeder model where they focused on improving the efficiency of taxi feeder operations along the feeder route, as well as integrating and co-ordinating the feeder services to the trunk services. The results of the model analysis showed that integration of trunk and feeder services can be achieved through timed transfers; whereby taxi arrivals at the interchange are co-ordinated to bus departures from the interchange. This must of course be supplemented with other improvements tested in the scenarios on the feeder network. However, the operational behaviour of taxi feeder services is not predictable as a result of route non-compliance. This makes it difficult to plan timed transfers between them and formal bus and train services in order to achieve integration. It is therefore key that the transport authority and the taxi association's work closely to ensure that the regulations set about taxi operations and route compliance are followed. Without monitoring, the taxis will tend to operate in areas with high demand as operators are profit seeking as opposed to servicing the community and this will limit the success of this objective. Key words: Trunk-feeder, Taxi, simulation modelling, co-ordination, boarding & alighting, public transport integration, passengers
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    Empirical Estimation of a Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) for the City of Cape Town Freeway Network
    (2020) Rammutla, John Koketso; Zuidgeest, Marcus
    The City of Cape Town is the most congested city in South Africa, with Johannesburg coming in second. Capetonians are spending 75% more time in traffic because of the congestion during peak hours, thus reducing time spent on leisure and other activities. Due to population growth, increasing car ownership and declining capacity of rail infrastructure, Cape Town's road infrastructure will continue to be under severe pressure if the status quo is maintained. Research shows that congestion levels in urban areas are key factors in determining the effectiveness and productivity of the transport system. Traffic congestion poses a threat to the economy and the environment. Increasing corridors' capacity by increasing the number of lanes does not necessarily solve the problem. Effective urban traffic management and efficient utilization of existing infrastructure are critical in creating sustainable solutions to congestion problems. To achieve this, it is important that appropriate urban-scale models and monitoring strategies are put in place. Effective traffic management and monitoring strategies require accurate characterization of the traffic state of an urban-scale network. Several approaches, including kinetic wave theory and cell transmission models or macroscopic traffic simulation models, have been proposed and developed to describe the traffic state of an urban-scale network. However, these approaches are limited and require significant amounts of computational time and effort. The application of macroscopic fundamental diagram (herein referred to as MFD) to characterize the state of an urban-scale network has thus far proven to be more effective than other approaches. MFD represents the state of urban traffic by defining the traffic throughput of an area at given traffic densities. It describes the characteristics and dynamics of urban-scale traffic conditions, allowing for improved and sustainable urban scale traffic management and monitoring strategies. Against this backdrop, the existence of MFD for the City of Cape Town (CoCT) urbanscale network is yet to be established and the implications yet to be understood, as in other parts of the world. The main aim of this research was, therefore, to empirically estimate the macroscopic fundamental diagram for the CoCT's freeway network and analyse its observed features. To achieve this, observed data of 5 minutes periods for the month of May 2019 was used to estimate the MFD. The results confirmed that when the chaotic scatter-plots of flow and density from individual fixed loop detectors were aggregated the scatter nearly disappeared and points grouped neatly to form a clearly defined free-flow state, critical state and the formation of hysteresis loops past the critical density corresponding with the network observed maximum flow. Further analysis of the MFDs showed that a single hysteresis loop always forms past the critical density during the evening peak in a weekday MFD. However, it was inconclusive during the morning peak period in weekday MFDs. Lastly, an explicit hysteresis loop seldom appears in a Saturday MFD when the peak of traffic demand is lower than on weekdays. In order to understand the dynamics of the congestion spread, the freeway network was partitioned into penetrating highways network and the ring highway network. The results showed that the maximum flows observed for the two sub-networks were significantly different (943 veh/hr/lane for the penetrating highways network and 1539 veh/hr/lane for the ring highway network). The penetrating highways network's MFD indicated the presence of congestion in the network whereas the ring highway network indicated only the free-flow state (no indication of congestion) during peak periods. The congestion seen on the penetrating highways network was found not to be sufficiently spread on those highways. On the 24th May, congestion on the penetrating highway network was observed during both the morning and evening peak periods, whereas on the 31st May congestion was observed mainly during the evening peak period, with hysteresis-like shape. These observations confirmed that congestion during peak periods is not homogenously spread across the entire network, certain areas are more congested than others, hence the observed formation of hysteresis loops and slight scatters. Lastly, the hysteresis loops observed in the penetrating highways network's MFD was further characterized in terms of their shape and size. First, the results showed that the slight scatter and hysteresis patterns observed in penetrating highways network MFD's vary in size and shape across different days. The shapes of the hysteresis loops observed during both the morning and evening peak periods, were type H2 hysteresis loops, signifying a stable recovery of the network with the average network flow remaining unchanged as average network density decreases during the recovery. Characterization of the size of the observed hysteresis loops showed that the drop of the hysteresis (an indicator of network level of instability during recovery phase) was smaller, signifying a more stable network traffic and homogenous distribution of congestion during the recovery phase.
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    Enhancing integrated transport planning: A spatial multi-criteria analysis approach to the MyCiTi integrated rapid transit system, South Africa
    (2016) Barendse, Caro-Joy; Vanderschuren, Marianne
    Since the birth of the automobile in 1886, its popularity amongst people has risen dramatically owing to the freedom, comfort, speed, safety and unique designs offered by this mode of transport. 2014 saw approximately 71.15 million units of new vehicle sales globally, showing that private car usage is still on the rise. Rapid degradation of the environment and slumped economic growth can be attributed to the automobilecentric transport system. Raised environmental and social awareness has driven campaigns to promote greener modes of transport instead, such as public and nonmotorised transportation. This has seen the introduction of BRT systems in South African cities however; fully integrated transport systems are yet to be achieved. Thus there is a dire need for a design support tool that is adequately capable of processing built environment characteristics in the development of a BRT feeder network that is fully appreciative of the influence of NMT and the urban fabric, and is thus appropriate to the needs of the community it is trying to serve. This study comprised the application of two Spatial Multi-Criteria based methodologies in which a list of built environment characteristics and public transport demand formed the inputs for the analyses. The analysis produced a composite suitability map for each approach, in which each pixel represented the appropriateness of having a BRT feeder route located in that respective pixel. Routes between O-D pairs identified were solved by carrying out a least cost path assessment based on the mean impedance values along the existing road network. The routes developed were compared to the MyCiTi feeder bus routes using Key Performance Indicators established in this research to determine whether this study was successful in producing an enhanced BRT feeder route planning tool. Apart from one route, the set of feeder routes developed for each approach were exactly the same with the second method producing lower average impedance values per kilometre thus it was deemed stronger. When compared to the MyCiTi feeder routes, similar operational efficiencies were achieved with respect to average travel time, coverage and directness. However; the study methodologies provided a greater level of NMT planning inclusion and consideration of environmental factors. Furthermore; it achieved this in a systematic and transparent manner, providing immensely powerful benefits for transportation planners in the public sector. This study was successful in demonstrating that SMCA combined with the Network Analyst tool in ArcGIS has the ability to enhance the quality and appropriateness of BRT feeder routes, whilst achieving acceptable operational efficiencies. The results could further be improved by incorporating more data on local NMT trends and behaviour. Furthermore; this tool can be applied to solving pedestrian, bicycle and other public transport routing problems.
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    Evaluation of the modal choice behaviour and bus service preferences of commuters of the scheduled Golden Arrow Bus Services (Pty) Ltd using stated choice data
    (2014) Cloete, Brendon Lee; Jay, Ian
    Evaluation Problem: The Western Cape Provincial Government faces a public problem of declining service levels with respect of public bus transport services. Stemming from the public problem is the management problem of modelling choice behaviour of commuter stated choices for utility maximisation and therefore as a means of optimising the allocation of the Public Transport Operating Grant (PTOG) expenditure. Historically, differing perceptions amongst travellers, and the difficulties in quantifying these attributes, mean that they are rarely included (directly) within the modelling and appraisal process, or the associated utility computation (Crockett, Sinclair and Whelan. 2008:11). A combination of policies which would ensure that the discrete choices of commuters for an improved bus service are considered in a modal shift from the Golden Arrow Bus Services (Pty) Ltd (GABS) bus service to the MyCiTi Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) service is required to be produced from this evaluation. Evaluation Approach: The evaluation brings together data and analytical information on a broader, more inclusive, societal model of the public transport service in Cape Town. It seeks to: - identify the value aspects of the public bus transport infrastructure and services, - identify and model choice behaviour of GABS bus service users, - generate preference valuations for public transport service attributes and - determine the effect of service attributes on modal choice namely GABS and a hypothetical MyCiTi service area. A discrete choice experiment models the stated choices of respondents who were made to choose between various combinations of service levels during the morning and afternoon peak commuting times. The commuters' willingness to pay for a switch to a new MyCiTi IRT-type service from their current choice of an existing GABS bus service is estimated. The choice data is collected by means of an on-board bus survey along three particular routes in Table View, a West Coast Region in the City of Cape Town, South Africa and where the new MyCiTi service is being introduced. The analyses will show which service attributes are significant in commuter mode choice behaviour, such as changes travel time, fare prices and other significant service attributes, as well as which level of service would maximise utility for the target population. Major Evaluative Conclusions: The evaluation found that the DCE choice modelling approach used was unfamiliar to the respondents and would most likely not have been completely understood. Although the factorial approach to designing the experiment could identify an exhaustive list of value aspects to choose from, the need to adopt a fractional factorial in the final design does necessitate further experimentation to produce a more comprehensive choice model, inclusive of more service attributes and with the discrete choice models corroborated with revealed preference data. Seat availability was by far the most significant choice determinant and the lack thereof would be a serious deterrent to a modal shift to using the new MyCiTi service. The number of transfers during the trip and the distance of the bus stop from home were also significant choice determinants. The choice models indicated that the female commuters particularly, were willing to pay for the new MyCiTi bus-type service. In the absence of suitable seating capacity, a reduced travel time would be required to reduce the standing times and make the MyCiTi service an attractive option. The analysis produced inconclusive data for ridership predictions, although it can generally be said that provided sufficient seating, the GABS bus users will be willing to switch modes, as there is no indication in the data to suggest otherwise. Considering the preferences expressed for the service attributes, a hypothetical service can be proposed, with a service mix of R9.00 per trip, that would take 45 minutes and that offered the commuter a seat for the journey. The first bus stop would be no more than two kilometres away and the journey would consist of no more than one transfer to reach the final destination.
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    A further study of transportation problems on South African university campuses
    (1978) Wall, Kevin Charles; Granger, V L
    This thesis surveys the transportation problems of universities in RSA, and solutions proposed thereto. The transportation problems referred to are problems of access to and egress from the campus; internal circulation on the campus (whether of vehicles or pedestrians); and parking on the campus. Universities were asked to rank in priority order a series of problem statements. Using their replies as a base, a questionnaire was drawn up, and was posted to all eleven White universities, plus the Universities of Durban-Westville and the Western Cape. Information requested included population figures in various staff/student and resident/commuter categories, parking demand and provision, modal split, public transport supply and use, and measures to cope with future increase in traffic. Despite a very satisfactory response, there remain gaps in the data, especially on the question of modal split. Visits were paid to most of the universities planning and administrative staff were interviewed. A comparison with a similar study, done in 1970/1971, yields information on trends. Particularly, it is encouraging to note the improvement in the scope and standard of transportation planning on some of the campuses. Overseas information which could make a contribution to a better understanding of the RSA situation was gathered by means of a questionnaire survey and a literature survey. The countries selected for this purpose, by reason of the similarity of key socio-economic characteristics of their population to RSA data were Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Additional information was gathered, by means of a limited literature survey and a few visits, from universities in UK and USA. This information was critically assessed on its applicability to RSA needs. From this mass of information, factors that influence campus transportation problems are seen to emerge. In the light of this understanding, generalised solutions that are proposed from time to time for the transportation problems at particular universities are commented on in the thesis.
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    Identifying ‘transit deserts’ in a South African City – The case of Cape Town
    (2019) Cameron, Robert James; Vanderschuren, Marianne
    This dissertation defines and describes the concept of 'transit deserts’, and the important role public transport plays in the lives of people who have few or no other alternatives. Transit deserts are defined as areas containing large portions of public transport dependent populations with limited access to private vehicles where the level of mass public transport does not adequately service the need of the populations in question (Jiao and Dillivan, 2013). The methodology to identify transit deserts (Jiao and Dillivan, 2013; Jiao, 2017) is tested in this study within a South African context, i.e. Cape Town. Since all available literature on measuring transit deserts was generated in the United States, a clearly defined modus operandi was established. Therefore, this dissertation aimed to modify and adapt the existing method to the Cape Town context. An explanation to how certain details related to the existing method were changed to be applicable to a South African city is provided in this study. The modified method involved identifying the public transport dependent population as a measure of public transport need, calculating the supply of public transport, and then measuring the gap between the need and the supply. This study will find that transit deserts exist in Cape Town and are spatially located on the outskirts of the metropolitan, in suburban and rural portions of the city. Transit gaps are also identified in previously marginilised areas known as the Cape Flats. Significantly, this study revealed the need for Cape Town to gather comprehensive transportation network data that is up-to-date and publicly available. This recommendation would allow for a more effective analysis of public transport need and supply in order to report on the location of transit deserts more accurately.
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    The indirect impact of road freight transport - case study: N3 Johannesburg to Durban road freight corridor
    (2015) McKune, Andrew; Vanderschuren, Marianne
    South Africa's unique spatial challenges require more corridor transport relative to the size of the economy than most countries in the world. The overall aim of this investigation is to determine the estimated cost of the indirect impacts of road freight on the N3 corridor between Johannesburg and Durban. This corridor, approximately 600 kilometres in length, forms the link between the country's industrial hub (Johannesburg) and its key Port (Durban). The following research questions are posed: • What is the status quo of freight transport in a global, South African and Johannesburg to Durban Freight Corridor context? • What are the future growth forecasts for freight on the Johannesburg to Durban corridor? • What is the significance of freight transport in South Africa? • Does the reported total cost of road freight transport take into account a holistic approach when determining the costs? • How are direct and indirect impacts of road freight transport defined, and how do they differ? • What are the direct and indirect impacts of road freight transport? • What method can be used to assess the total indirect costs of all associated impacts? • What are the estimated costs of the indirect impacts of road freight transport on the Johannesburg to Durban Freight Corridor? • What are possible mitigation measures for the indirect impacts of road freight transport? • What will the estimated costs of the indirect impacts of road freight transport on the Johannesburg to Durban Freight Corridor be in over a 30-year horizon, when considering future projections and possible mitigation measures? • What are the alternative modes to road freight transport on the Johannesburg to Durban corridor?
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    Investigating pedestrian safety solutions on rural high-order roads. Case-study: R71 Polokwane
    (2017) Mokoma, Lesedi Dibuseng; Zuidgeest, Marcus
    South Africa's pedestrian accident rate is one of the highest in the world. The percentage of pedestrian accidents to total road accidents is approximately 33% (RTMC, 2011) far greater than the world average of 22% (World Health Organisation, 2013). The problem is more acute in rural areas where 1 in 3 pedestrian accidents results in pedestrian fatalities. The ratio on urban roads is 1 in 10. The sobering pedestrian safety statistics describing South Africa's rural roads have prompted the need to research functional and effective traffic engineering solutions that can improve pedestrian safety on rural high order roads located near human settlements. This investigation is conducted using the R71 Polokwane -a road with a history of pedestrian safety problems- as a case study. Pedestrian safety risk factors and an assessment methodology for pedestrian risk on rural high order roads are derived from a review of local and international literature. The pedestrian risk assessment methodology is applied to the R71 study area. This process highlights the shortcomings of the current accident data collection process. Critical information such as accident cause and location; driver and pedestrian characteristics such as age and gender; important information such as vehicle type and age, injuries, fatalities, etc. are not recorded. The limited data minimises the depth of the analysis however a reasonable high level understanding of the pedestrian safety risk factors and the risk in the study area is attained. The R71 study area is characterised by villages, farms and an urban settlement. The prevalence of pedestrian accidents is higher in villages and lowest in the urban settlements. This is attributed to the infrastructure provision in the urban settlement. The causes of pedestrian risk on the R71 are concluded as: ● Lack of integrated land use and transport planning; ● Lack of pedestrian infrastructure. ● Poor design of speed transition zones between rural areas and villages and urban areas. A literature review of effective pedestrian safety measures that are being implemented locally and abroad is compiled. Some of the solutions are impractical for the rural South African context particularly because they are dependent on consistent energy sources and may require routine maintenance. A solution framework based on the pedestrian safety risk identified on the R71 is designed to guide countermeasure selection and design in rural contexts. In the end, solutions deemed suitable for the rural context are: effective high to low speed transition zones; the provision of fenced-off service roads and strategic crossing points; and the removal and enforcement of land use in the road reserve of high order roads. These solutions must be complemented with community training and consistent law enforcement.
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    Investigating the introduction of economic land use developments to create rail contra-flow using a strategic model: a case study of Johannesburg
    (2019) Ngobeni, Ntombifuthi; Zuidgeest, Mark
    South Africa is still recovering from the effects of the apartheid government and spatial design that marginalises the demographic that resides at the edges and outskirts of cities. The country has come a long way from where it was, but still has a long way to go to eradicate the effects this fragmentation has had on access to socio economic opportunities. Diversifying land use and creating localised economic hubs may provide a helping hand in reducing the need to travel far distances to seek opportunity, and by extension create an attraction for surrounding communities. The dual role of nullifying past prejudice implemented through strategic spatial design while introducing the perspective of using the relationship between land use and transport to create rail contra flow and localised socio-economic hubs is one that can be achieved strategically. The modelling software that will help to demonstrate the model output of the research, which will be a simulation of contra-flow after the introduction of economic land use developments, is PTV VISUM.