Most people in Johannesburg used their private vehicles to get to work on Thursday despite the government’s call to use public transport and participate in Car-Free Day.
Traffic jams and congested roads were still the norm on Johannesburg’s roads, and mall parking lots were as busy as any other day.
Some people said they prefer to use their vehicles as public transport is not reliable enough, while others who used taxis or buses said they will use public transport in the future if the public-transport system is improved.
Two women living in Sandton and working in a clothing store in Rosebank said they used their cars to get to work on Thursday morning and were stuck in traffic.
”It made no difference. There was a lot of traffic on the roads, the same as any other day,” said Nadine Pavlakis.
Her friend, Liora Waila, said: ”The roads were busy and I don’t think Car-Free Day made any difference on congestion.”
Meanwhile, Jan Whitehead from Kensington said he left his car at home and took a taxi to work.
”It took me much longer to get to work, but one would expect that. I think the idea to use public transport is reasonably practical,” said Whitehead. ”The idea that government has for people to use public transport more often could work if the conditions of some taxis are improved. People are worried about their safety.”
Patience Dube, a waitress in Newtown who lives in Hillbrow and travels by taxi every day, said the taxis and buses on her route were not busier than other days.
”Traffic looked normal, like other days. I think if they [the government] want more people to use public transport, then they should have more buses and taxis on the road and they shouldn’t allow overloading so people won’t be afraid to use it.”
Premier takes taxi
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele led by example on Car-Free Day on Thursday when he travelled by taxi to an imbizo (meeting) he was scheduled to address on the South Coast.
However, provincial traffic authorities said their area was too vast to determine whether people had heeded the call to make use of public of public transport.
Transport spokesperson Colin Govender said: ”We appeal to people to give it a try before making negative comments.”
He also called on commuters to use the buddy system and give their friends a lift when using their private vehicles.
Durban couple Thavier and Prenola Reddy of La Mercy, who travelled to the Durban beachfront in their 4X4, said: ”It’s not going to work. Taxis don’t take you exactly where you want to go. It’s also much safer and more convenient when you use your own car.”
A car guard in the city centre, Joey Nortier, said the beachfront was packed with cars because students were writing exams in a nearby conference centre.
”Other than the students, it’s been very quiet, especially for a Thursday, which is usually one of the busiest days. But it’s been quiet for the past month anyway,” she said.
Nortier, who last year received a trophy from the police’s beach unit for being the most dedicated car guard, said she thinks traffic has decreased because of the rising petrol price.
A taxi driver from Umzinto on the South Coast, Ronnie Jama, said he was happy that there was less traffic on the road.
Jama said he travels the 110km between Durban and Umzinto about three times a day and it was a ”pleasure” to be on the road on Thursday.
”I think people have listened to government because the road is more quiet. I think they must do this more so that they can see it’s the small cars and not the taxis that cause the accidents,” he said.
No success in Bloemfontein
Motorists in Bloemfontein did not appear to heed the government’s call to participate in its Car-Free Day initiative.
”There are signs that people heard the call but they did not flock in their numbers to public transport,” Free State minister of transport Seiso Mohai said.
The provincial transport department said earlier that although Bloemfontein has not reached the ”already unbearable traffic congestion situation” like in other metropolitan areas, the city — as a major urban centre in the province — is already showing signs of this trend.
Some Free State provincial leaders made use of Bloemfontein’s public transport network on their way to work to support the government’s efforts to get more people to use public transport.
Premier Beatrice Marshoff took a taxi from the Pelonomi hospital in Heidedal to the central part of Bloemfontein, from where she walked about four blocks to her office.
Mohai took a bus to work from the suburb Universitas and later caught a taxi to Bothabelo, about 60km west of Bloemfontein, for a meeting with public-transport stakeholders.
Before boarding the taxi, Mohai said that the government has made a commitment to invest more in the transport system.
”We have to rekindle the public’s confidence in public transport,” he said.
Bloemfontein residents gave various reasons for not using public transport on Thursday, including buses not stopping near enough to work or home and transport time schedules clashing with work commitments during the day.
Rail problems in Cape Town
In Cape Town, Car-Free Day got off to a rocky start when a technical fault disabled the busy Khayelitsha rail line in the early hours of Thursday morning.
And the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in the province accused the government of ”reckless endangerment” in urging more people to use what it said was the already overcrowded public transport system.
”As Cosatu we support greater use of public transport, but [this] must be pursued in a safe and considered way,” said Cosatu’s provincial secretary, Tony Ehrenreich.
Metrorail said a ”contact wire” snapped near Khayelitsha station at 4.30am, causing two trains to be cancelled and others to be late.
Buses were organised to assist customers and by 6.10am a partial rail service had been restored.
The national government’s call to use public transport appeared to have had little effect on motorists in the city, and rush-hour commuters on the notoriously congested routes into the city centre from the northern suburbs said there was no difference in traffic volume.
Frank van der Velde, spokesman for the city council’s transport portfolio, said the city had not actively promoted the no-car day partly because of the short notice it was given, and partly because it had its own car-free day last month.
However, he said, a group of about 30 officials, including city and provincial traffic planners and deputy director general of the national transport department Lucky Montana, had rendezvoused at the Mitchells Plain transport interchange at 5.30am to make their way into town by bus and taxi.
Van der Velde said he had made the trip into town in a taxi, jammed in with 15 other people.
”The taxi driver was aware that he had officials on board, so he didn’t weave as much as one observes them do,” he said.
Advertising account executive Philadi Kekana, who drove to her office in the city centre by car from Table View in the northern suburbs after the rush hour, said she knew about Car-Free Day, ”but I thought it was a Jo’burg thing”. — Sapa