Engaging minibus taxi drivers in the quest for child safer roads

Abstract

South Africa has double the world average child road fatality rate, with at least 1 300 children killed every year. A leading contributor to this public health challenge is the lack of safe public transport that enables children to reach schools easily. Minibus Taxis (MBTs), South Africa's incarnation of paratransit services, have aimed to fill this gap by providing transport at a reasonably priced fare and a relatively higher frequency, compared with other modes of public transport. However, the informal nature of MBTs means that this form of transport places passengers at a relatively higher risk of road accidents due to the use of unroadworthy vehicles, reckless driving and speeding. This paper provides an overview of the Safe Travel To School (STTS) programme, which was initiated in 2014 with a view to providing a localised intervention that would potentially strengthen the safety of MBTs for scholar transport in South Africa. The programme aims to provide safer travel for child passengers by monitoring driver performance through a tracking device installed in each vehicle and rewarding good driver performance each quarter. A driver recruited into the programme also undergoes health tests and training that covers first aid, defensive driving and road safety training. The literature review that each of these components improves driver performance. A previous evaluation of the programme found that since inception, drivers in the programme have shown better driving performance than general motorists. Thus, the STTS programme potentially provides an implementable practice model for safe scholar transport that is oriented towards a developing country like South Africa.

Putting cultural difference in its place: Barriers to access to health services for parents of children with intellectual disability in an urban African setting

“…In the current study, in keeping with the first author’s experience as a service provider, most participants reported that the public transport system was the only form of transportation they are using to take their children to the healthcare services, similar to other studies on disability and access in low- and middle-income countries (Aldersey et al, 2016; du Preez et al, 2019; Eseta, 2017; Ipingbemi, 2015; Janmohammed et al, 2019; Swartz, 2012, 2015, 2019; Tanser et al, 2001). In our study, while minibus taxis were available, participants describe access and experiences of using minibus taxis as difficult.…”

“…As in many other African countries, and in the absence of a well-functioning state-provided accessible transport system, many impoverished South Africans depend on minibus taxi services for their transport needs. These taxis have a poor safety record (Janmohammed et al, 2019) and present major challenges in terms of accessibility for people with a range of impairments, including mobility impairments and communication impairments (Green et al, 2015;Kett et al, 2020;Munthali et al, 2019;Swartz, 2019;Visagie et al, 2015).…”

Perspectives on integrated water resource management and its relevance in understanding the water-energy-climate change nexus in South Africa

“…Communities in SSA are faced with similar expectations. In South Africa for example, Winkler (2006) expressed the view that most of the country's socio-economic developmental needs could be achieved through an increased supply of energy. This, however, must be done within the parameters of safeguarding natural resources such as water, land and atmosphere.…”

Development of a design and implementation process for the integration of hydrokinetic devices into existing infrastructure in South Africa

“…Hydropower is a trusted technology with signi cant potential in SA (White, 2011). It is a form of clean renewable energy making use of the available ow or head in water without consuming or polluting the water itself.…”