Public Passenger Transport Market Inquiry

Following the publication of the ToRs, the Commission published the Stakeholder Participation Guidelines (the Guidelines) and Call for Submissions on 13 July 2017. The Commission also held public hearings across the 9 provinces, between June 2018 and August 2018. Oral and written submissions were received from over 200 stakeholders. All submissions and transcripts of public hearings are available on the Commission’s website (http://www.compcom.co.za/public-passenger-transport-market-inquiry/) 7. In February 2020, the Commission invited stakeholders to make submissions and provide comments on the provisional findings and recommendations. This report provides the final findings and recommendations of the Commission with respect to all modes of transport (except metered taxis and e-hailing services). Rationale for separating the reports 8. This report (main report) focuses on the traditional markets, which are largely static in nature (i.e. minibus, bus and rail), whilst the second report has a specific focus on e-hailing and metered taxi services. The Commission is of the view that the dynamics of competition between the metered taxis and e-hailing services are driven largely by technological developments. The innovation and digitisation of the markets are referred to as the fourth industrial revolution (4IR or Industry 4.0). Competition assessment and regulatory scrutiny in these evolving technology or platform markets require special attention, given their dynamic nature. The Commission is not in any way downplaying some technological developments made in the traditional markets, but the innovations do not disrupt the way the industry generally operates, on a broader level. Overview of public transport in South Africa 9. For the purpose of this Inquiry, public transport implies land-based public passenger transport consisting of three main modes, namely; taxi, bus and rail. Public transport in South Africa includes buses (provincially contracted buses, unsubsidised buses, municipal buses), taxis (minibus taxis, metered taxis, e-hailing operators), and rail (Metrorail, Shosholoza Meyl and Gautrain). 10. Statistics South Africa (2015) highlights that minibus taxis are the most commonly used mode of public transport in South Africa, accounting for 66.5 per cent of households that use public transport. The bus and rail modes account for 23.6 per cent and 9.9 per cent, respectively. Is public transport in South Africa considered as a network or system? 11.