|
Back to Index
Harare
City Council 'bus plan' needs re-think
Takura
Zhangazha
May 15, 2012
http://takura-zhangazha.blogspot.com/2012/05/harare-city-council-bus-plan-needs-re.html
The Harare City
Council (HCC), according to recent media reports, intends to expand
the city's public transport services by introducing a fleet of 500
buses in partnership with a private company. On the face of it,
it is a development that must be welcomed given the fact that the
city's public transport system as it exists today remains characterized
by 'stop gap' planning and without the necessary 'best practice'
service and safety standards. The contemporary main players that
are likely to be affected by this policy intention of HCC are private
commuter omnibus operators who have been the main providers of urban
public service transport in the city since the liberalization of
urban transport services. How these stakeholders will respond to
this potential competition is probably something that they can better
argue via their relevant associations.
What is however
important about this particular policy intention and tender pronouncement
by the city is how it came to be deemed either a solution or a necessary
measure to take in the best interests of Harare residents and commuters.
I am sure there are tender award protocols and accountability mechanisms
that are currently being utilized in order to ascertain which of
the five reported companies will win the award to provide the buses
that council has deemed necessary to ease the traffic and congestion
on the city's roads.
The more important
point however is whether the plan is a holistic plan or, as with
previous ones, is more to address symptoms without achieving the
intended effect which would be a lasting cure for our transport
ills. A departure point in seeking to analyze this new policy initiative
of council is to measure the reasons why HCC has not considered
the railway network or linkages with the National Railways of Zimbabwe
in its plan. If the council has indeed considered the urban railway
network as an option then they must give a public explanation as
to why it is no longer deemed part of the solution to our public
transport challenges.
In its explanations,
it would also be wise for HCC to consider a number of issues that
will emerge when it goes ahead with this plan in its reported form.
The first issue being that given the general traffic congestion
particularly during our peak hours, the additional 500 buses are
not going to resolve the problem of time spent by commuters on the
road to and from work. A combination of the intended buses, smaller
commuter omnibuses, private vehicles is a recipe for more congestion
and not relief.
When also considered
with the fact that our roads are already strained since very few
of them are either dualised or fully upgraded to efficiently accommodate
current levels of traffic, let alone an additional number of buses,
the HCC will then have to make some controversial choices. These
would possibly include either introducing an extra charge ( e.g.
London's congestion charge) to either private or smaller vehicles
as a deterrent for them to come into the CBD. The other alternative
will be to actively encourage commuters to use council sanctioned
buses while at the same time competing with the small commuter omnibuses
in the CBD. Again, HCC will face tough challenges with proving their
buses to be better and more efficient than the smaller commuter
omnibuses that are currently the main mode of transport for many
residents. This process will inevitably lead to clashes and differences
between the city authorities and those that are currently in the
public transport business wherein the latter will accuse the former
of unfair protection of the new bus company's operations.
Where the council
undertakes a 'big picture' approach to the public transport challenges
in Harare, they would have to consider including the railway network
in their plans and thereby reduce the number of buses they intend
to introduce. The national railway network, even though it has been
described as technologically outdated and underfunded, provides
an alternative solution that has been under-explored in relation
to urban public transport in Zimbabwe. While it has been tried in
controversial circumstances before (early-to mid 2000s) it was never
further developed. The city council would do well to take an approach
that links up more conveniently and efficiently the railway line
network that circumnavigates the capital and lies adjacent to major
residential areas to the west and east of Harare. The buses that
would then be introduced would cover primarily shorter distances
and possibly provide services that link up parts of the CBD or newly
constructed railway stations in residential areas that the railway
line passes through. This would invariably be a cheaper and more
efficient option for the commuters as it would mean less congestion
on the roads, less accidents, less consumption of fuel as well as
less environmental damage in the city.
While the leaders
of the city may perceive this to be more expensive and more long
term as an alternative to their 'bus plan', it is an alternative
that will strengthen the full utilization of available infrastructure
as well as enable an integrated public transport system for the
city. It would therefore be imperative that the council undertakes
a much more complete cost benefit analysis of its intended introduction
of 500 buses onto the capitals strained transport system.
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
