Having said that, the image surrounding taxi transport is not always good and many areas such as poor driver manners and the ignoring of laws and regulations, etc. are the subject of criticism. In particular, taxi accidents in the Cape Metropolitan Region are far more common than in the capital region and something needs to be done to remedy this. The root of the problems lies in the deregulation surrounding permission to operate a taxi business. The system of permission, which used to be operated very strictly in the past, has now come to be almost non-existent as a result of the government s deregulation measures.
In future, the role of the taxi sector within the urban transport system will need to be made clear and a broader urban transport policy will need to be reflected, so that operating conditions are continually monitored and systems run on the local level.
2.3.5 Transport Issues in the Metropolitan Regional Level
(1)On the Metropolitan Regional Level
As was previously mentioned, the expansion of the Cape Town Metropolitan Region to the suburbs has accelerated the growth in commuter trip lengths, and this together with the advancement of motorization has led to a serious decline in the efficiency of car transport. The current car ownership rate of 140 per 1,000 people is around half that of the advanced nations of Europe, but is an extremely high figure compared to developing countries. In view of the highly developed road infrastructure (exclusive car roads, etc.) and the fact that car utilization is both necessary and advantageous in a general urban land utilization environment of suburban residence, it is supposed that the desire to own a car will remain strong among the urban population into the future. However, because the cost of owning a car is relatively high due to import tariffs, it is necessary to consider that the class difference in owning and not owning a car will grow more and more clear-cut, leading to a danger that transport problems may turn into social problems.
In government circles, too, growing awareness of the falling efficiency of road investment and of the energy and pollution problems, etc. caused by a traffic situation that is over-reliant on car transport has led to reflection on the current situation and, based on the view that a more efficient and rational transportation structure is necessary, reexamination of the urban land use plan and calls to make more use of public transport systems are gaining pace.
The writers of this report are in agreement with this - that expansion of public modes of transport is a major condition for the future urban transport structure. In order to achieve
