Transportation is what is on my mind at this time and I suppose it’s largely due to my concern about how well our transportation system will hold up during the FIFA World Cup!
Air Travel
In general, I have confidence in our aviation industry and I think people flying in and out of our country through the various international airports over the period of the World Cup are destined to have a generally pleasant experience. This is thanks in large part to the long-term planning approach that has been adopted by the Airport Company of South Africa (ACSA), the people who manage all airports (international and domestic) in South Africa. In the past few years, we’ve seen how ACSA has transformed our airports through the company’s multi-billion Rand infrastructure investment programme aimed at upgrading existing airports and building the completely new King Shaka airport in Durban, at a cost of R7 billion. I’m however less confident in our domestic airports in the small cities of Polokwane, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein, where the staff are not used to dealing with large volumes of passengers and cargo, not to mention the adequacy of the ground infrastructure in those airports. It is my that staff in these small airports have been sufficiently trained, not only to put up a friendly welcoming face but to also do their jobs well.
Road Transport
Road transportation is by far my biggest concern when it comes to the World Cup.
To be sure, a lot of work has gone into transforming our roads both to increase the traffic-carrying capacity as well as to enhance traffic flow on existing roads however, with some of the road works still continuing, we have yet to see real improvements in the levels of traffic congestion. Indeed, SANRAL, the government agency responsible for managing our roads has announced that work on our roads will not be completed before the World Cup and that the construction sites will simply be shut down during the period of the tournament. Also of concern to me is that so far we’ve seen little evidence of coordinated national traffic policing plan aimed at ensuring smooth traffic flows throughout the period of the World Cup. By now, we ought to be seeing would be visible signs of government’s plan unfolding, with drills and dry runs taking place throughout the country, especially in the host cities. Imagine for a moment that the traffic lights have gone out on major roads near the airports, hotels and stadia during a World Cup match-day. Of greater disappointment to me however, is that the ambitious Joburg bus rapid transport system, Rea Vaya, has been anything but a success. Poor planning has prevented the Rea Vaya project from being as rapid as it was intended to be, largely due to the buses not having completely dedicated lanes on some parts of their routes. One can only hope that those in charge of planning for Cape Town’s own bus rapid system have learnt valuable lessons from the blunders of Joburg’s Rea Vaya.
To be sure, a lot of work has gone into transforming our roads both to increase the traffic-carrying capacity as well as to enhance traffic flow on existing roads however, with some of the road works still continuing, we have yet to see real improvements in the levels of traffic congestion. Indeed, SANRAL, the government agency responsible for managing our roads has announced that work on our roads will not be completed before the World Cup and that the construction sites will simply be shut down during the period of the tournament. Also of concern to me is that so far we’ve seen little evidence of coordinated national traffic policing plan aimed at ensuring smooth traffic flows throughout the period of the World Cup. By now, we ought to be seeing would be visible signs of government’s plan unfolding, with drills and dry runs taking place throughout the country, especially in the host cities. Imagine for a moment that the traffic lights have gone out on major roads near the airports, hotels and stadia during a World Cup match-day. Of greater disappointment to me however, is that the ambitious Joburg bus rapid transport system, Rea Vaya, has been anything but a success. Poor planning has prevented the Rea Vaya project from being as rapid as it was intended to be, largely due to the buses not having completely dedicated lanes on some parts of their routes. One can only hope that those in charge of planning for Cape Town’s own bus rapid system have learnt valuable lessons from the blunders of Joburg’s Rea Vaya.In the meantime, let's prepare to present a world-class country to the rest of the world.
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