From Methodology to Implementation: The Case of South Africa

Abstract

In 2020, international organizations and companies coalesced under the Sustainable Mobility for All umbrella to apply to South Africa the set of tools it had developed—the Global Tracking Framework for Transport. The country was looking for ways to tackle vulnerabilities in the transport system and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. During the initial phase of the study, the COVID-19 pandemic struck unexpectedly, and immediately impacted transport systems globally. The pandemic highlighted a need to upgrade several tools to make the resilience of transport systems a more prominent component of the approach. Using these upgraded tools, the performance and deficiencies of South Africa’s transport system were determined. The country action plan identified that the most impactful policy measures would cluster around the optimization of existing transport infrastructure assets instead of new investments. This case study helped to refine and connect the various tools and articulate an innovative and coherent approach for improved decision-making in transport. The expected result of the application of this approach is a selection of policy and infrastructure investments better aligned with the Paris climate agreement and in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Appendices

Annex 12.A: South Africa—Mobility Performances

See Fig. 12.A.1.

Fig. 12.A.1

(Source Sustainable Mobility for All. 2020. Mobility Performance at a Glance: Country Dashboards. Washington, DC: Sustainable Mobility for All. ISBN: 978-1-7341533-9-2. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0 Washington DC, page 350-351. https://www.sum4all.org/gra-tool/country-performance/snapshot)

South Africa—Country dashboard on transport and mobility

Annex 12.B: South Africa’s Prototype Action Plan

See Table 12.B.1.

Table 12.B.1 South Africa’s prototype action plan