Factors for the design of an integrated real-time information system for public commuting in South Africa

Abstract

The South African public transport system experiences a myriad of challenges documented extensively in the literature, which result in poor service quality and decreased ridership. Public transportation challenges are also experienced globally. However, various countries across the world have implemented technological solutions within major cities to solve public transportation challenges. These technological solutions include establishing an integrated real-time information system (IRIS) to address the commuting needs of public transport commuters. This study explored the factors affecting the availability and accessibility of real-time information for public commuters in South Africa to understand the design requirements for an IRIS for public commuting services in the country. The study adopted an inductive qualitative approach to provide in-depth insights into the research subject, using service design as a research strategy. Data for the study was collected through semi-structured interviews with public transport operators (PTO): PRASA, MyCiti Bus rapid transit (BRT), Golden Arrow, and Minibus taxis within the City of Cape Town (CoCT), and Co-design sessions with public commuters. Secondary data sources such as policy documents and other strategic planning documents relating to the public transport sector were reviewed to supplement the empirical data. Subsequently, data was analysed using content analysis and thematic analysis, identifying patterns and themes from data in different formats. Activity theory (AT) was applied to interpret the relationship between the commuters, PTOs and the envisioned IRIS. The main research question encompasses the factors influencing the design of an IRIS for public commuting in South Africa. Findings from the study revealed that the key factors include upgrading existing infrastructure, adopting standardised processes to ensure uniformity in an integrated model, drafting policies that regulate PTOs participating in an IRIS, and acquiring and implementing technologies such as smart cards, vehicle sensors, open-access wireless networks, interactive maps and display screens at transport facilities. The technology factor is at the core of an IRIS as it supports the integration of various subsystems from the PTOs. The study also sought to understand the design requirements for an IRIS from the PTOs and the commuters’ perspectives. The PTOs required more administrative functions to manage a fleet, drivers, customer reviews, payments, and update commuters on scheduled maintenance. The commuters mainly required functions to support their decision making on alternative routes and modes. These include electronic payments, multilingual travel information, search or filter travel information, live vehicle location, notifications through SMS, text to audio conversion and downloadable schedules for offline use.

This thesis also presents a conceptual design of the IRIS co-created with commuters to ideate the design requirements for the system. The research outputs are positioned to assist the South African Department of Transport to develop comprehensive policies, strategic plans and infrastructural development initiatives to implement an integrated public transport system.