Minibus and Bus services are in constant confrontation. Between exchanging expertise as drivers move between modes, and serving similar consumer bases—these two services are prime for coordination. However, mutuality and complementary services will mean nothing if their carbon footprint remain the same. Can anyone spot the location?

The frugality of transport planning is probably a bi-product of municipal budget allocations. Fair shares of the budget may not be commensurate for the thick line between a backlog and reinforced inefficiencies. What’s the point of planning better if nothing’s going to happen? This line of questioning is hidden behind a number of individuals who resonate with a cynical hopelessness that’s actually part of the problem. At the same time, considering the complexity of something like the housing backlog, resolving it perpetually needs a genuine understanding of what supply and demand markets can do now and 10, 20 and 50 years from now.

“South Africa’s huge housing backlog in urban areas has accumulated through the combined effects of influx control, which for a long time kept most of the poor out of the cities, and limited housing construction.”–Servaas van der Berg

What is possible? Perhaps a different line of thinking which is barely new. All the principles behind the housing market are deeply intertwined with transportation. If we’re concerned with how land is used, then we should be looking at transportation more seriously. The level of observation does not have to be regional only, it needs to be at a granular level too. However, it’s so expensive to perform a granular level planning activity that small, medium and large town budgets do not really incentivize such behavior for service providers. A moral incentive is also embedded in the probability that what is planned could be implemented. Where minibus taxis and buses are in confrontation there’s now a desperate attempt to connect them without contact. That’s embarrassing.

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