Sustainable Transportation in the 4IR Era: Case of the City of Johannesburg

Mbatha, Siphiwe and Gumbo, Trynos (2022) Sustainable Transportation in the 4IR Era: Case of the City of Johannesburg. Mobility, Knowledge and Innovation Hubs in Urban and Regional Development. Proceedings of REAL CORP 2022, 27th International Conference on Urban Development, Regional Planning and Information Society. pp. 755-766. ISSN 2521-3938

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Abstract

Sustainable transportation development promotes efficient and easy accessibility to socio-economic areas affording opportunities and good movement from one location to the next. High connectivity and the smooth movement of people and goods define a well-functioning city. Without technological change, the traditional, car-dominated cities of the 20th century will not survive rapid urbanization and increasingly stringent air pollution regulations. The City of Johannesburg has various modes of transportation from motorized transportation to non-motorized transportation, however, issues of sustainability in transportation are in question. This paper analyses the sustainability and sustainable development of public transportation in the 4IR era, modes of public transportation available for commuting and the level of non-motorized transportation used for completing a journey across the City of Johannesburg and how 4IR technology can be exploited and harnessed to promote smart transportation. Mixed method approach was deployed in this study were spatial approach and qualitative approach was used to glean data from commuters, relevant officials, and documented studies. Results revealed that there is high percentage of trips made by mini-bus taxis and railway trains. Moderate use of Bus Rapid transit system (Rea Vaya), Gautrain system, taxify/ubers, and other form of buses. Consequently, the results showed that there is low use of bicycles to make trips and cycling to connect to public transportation stations is not visible as most public transport users walk or drive private vehicles to connect to public transportation, and walking to complete journeys is only feasible for trips that are under 5km. In addition, there is sustainability in the current existing public transportation, however, with the population explosion that the city is facing there will be difficult movement for modes of transportation, increasing percentages of car accidents and air pollution. Further, there is lack of sustainability in non-motorized transportation as many trips are completed with motorized transportation. The paper concludes that there is visibility of 4IR technologies in public transportation but not all the modes of transport have deployed them to ensure efficient, reliable, safe, convinient public transportation system, hence, this calls for interventions for enhancement towards develoment of smart sustainable transportation systems as the level of private motorized transportation in the city are high. The paper recommends that there should be exploitation of 4IR technologies which will bring integrated intra- and inter-urban transport systems, reducing the need for private vehicles, promoting real-time transport and traffic management and monitoring, cleaner vehicles and low-carbon mobility solutions that allow people to walk and bike more freely, platforms to better utilize existing and new forms of shared and ambient mobility, e.g. bikes, buses, and autonomous vehicles.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	City of Johannesburg, 4IR, Public Transportation, Sustainability, Journey
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications
Depositing User:	The CORP Team
Date Deposited:	12 Nov 2022 18:57
Last Modified:	18 Dec 2022 13:56
URI:	http://repository.corp.at/id/eprint/951

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