Abstract
Abstract : The emphasis on developing well-integrated urban public transport systems has become a top priority in cities worldwide. In the past decades, most cities such as Johannesburg in South Africa have also prioritised improvements in urban mobility through mega investments in innovative urban public transport systems and strategic policy instruments. For example, the City of Johannesburg has invested in the Gautrain and Rea Vaya public transport modes. The Gauteng province and City of Johannesburg have further formulated relevant polices and legislative frameworks to inform the development of well-integrated urban public transport systems. However, the extent of spatial integration between the two urban public transport modes over the years has not been properly documented. In this study the extent of spatial integration of the Gautrain and Rea Vaya public transport modes has therefore been explored. A phenomenological case study survey and experimental research design were adopted which applied a mixed-method to collect spatial and qualitative data. Key informant interviews were used to unpack the status quo of the two public transport modes and the effectiveness of policies and legislation frameworks governing public transportation in Johannesburg. Crowd sourced datasets from Facebook and Twitter enabled visualisation of commuters’ movement patterns. It was found from the novel data analysed that there have been spirited efforts in Johannesburg to not only formulate relevant transport policy and legislative frameworks but also to facilitate the development of efficient and integrated modern public transport systems. The results however further reveal that the existing urban public transport networks are spatial disintegrated. There is little to no collaboration between the Gautrain and Rea Vaya, as they operate separately. In addition, the results reveal that the high commuters concentrations are commuters are situated near the stations, as current stations are located in the melting points of commuters. The highest commuter social media concentrations emerge from the city centre, particularly from Park Station stretching towards the western areas, into the residential spaces of the City. A comprehensive integrated transport planning framework is proposed to inform the spatial integration of the existing urban public transport systems and promote their efficiency.
M.Tech. (Operations Management)