The Republic of South Africa, situated on the southern tip of the African continent, as well as being blessed with a rich natural environment and abundant natural resources, is also the leading economic nation in Africa in terms of its GNP, car ownership, power consumption and all other economic indicators.
Furthermore, following the abolition of Apartheid and the lifting of economic sanctions by the United Nations in 1991, the Republic of South Africa has been striving to achieve economic development based on positive exchange and trade with other countries of the world.
Cape Town, the target area of the study, is the legislative capital and home to the national Diet and it is also the capital city of Cape Province. The population of the city is 2,350,000, or 5.4% of the national population, making it the most highly populated city in the country.
The main modes of transport in the metropolitan area are the railway, buses, taxis and privately owned cars, and the transport share of cars is particularly high at just less than 50%. Reasons for this are considered to be, among other things, the fact that the road infrastructure is more highly developed than the public transport infrastructure, road congestion has not yet reached extreme levels, and safety on public modes of transport is not good.
As well as possessing one of the world's most beautiful ports and numerous tourist spots in surrounding areas, Cape Town is also aiming to stage the Olympic Games in 2004 and, with a view to this, is planning to carry out major urban development and the construction of a new urban transport system.
As stated earlier, transport in Cape Town is reliant on the roads, and the city administration, concerned about deterioration of the environment as a result of road congestion and exhaust fumes, is examining the introduction in the near future of a public rail transport system based around light rail transit (LRT).
The study here, conducted in response to a request from the city administration of Cape Town, was subsidized by the Nippon Foundation, the Japan Railway Technical Service implements a preliminary study into the form public transport modes should take in Cape Town and the propriety of plans to introduce the LRT.
