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Identifying ‘transit deserts’ in a South African City – The case of Cape Town

This dissertation defines and describes the concept of 'transit deserts’, and the important role public transport plays in the lives of people who have few or no other alternatives. Transit deserts are defined as areas containing large portions of public transport dependent populations with limited...

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Main Author: Cameron, Robert James
Other Authors: Vanderschuren, Marianne
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Civil Engineering 2020
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access_status_str Open Access
author Cameron, Robert James
author2 Vanderschuren, Marianne
author_browse Cameron, Robert James
Vanderschuren, Marianne
author_facet Vanderschuren, Marianne
Cameron, Robert James
author_sort Cameron, Robert James
collection Thesis
description This dissertation defines and describes the concept of 'transit deserts’, and the important role public transport plays in the lives of people who have few or no other alternatives. Transit deserts are defined as areas containing large portions of public transport dependent populations with limited access to private vehicles where the level of mass public transport does not adequately service the need of the populations in question (Jiao and Dillivan, 2013). The methodology to identify transit deserts (Jiao and Dillivan, 2013; Jiao, 2017) is tested in this study within a South African context, i.e. Cape Town. Since all available literature on measuring transit deserts was generated in the United States, a clearly defined modus operandi was established. Therefore, this dissertation aimed to modify and adapt the existing method to the Cape Town context. An explanation to how certain details related to the existing method were changed to be applicable to a South African city is provided in this study. The modified method involved identifying the public transport dependent population as a measure of public transport need, calculating the supply of public transport, and then measuring the gap between the need and the supply. This study will find that transit deserts exist in Cape Town and are spatially located on the outskirts of the metropolitan, in suburban and rural portions of the city. Transit gaps are also identified in previously marginilised areas known as the Cape Flats. Significantly, this study revealed the need for Cape Town to gather comprehensive transportation network data that is up-to-date and publicly available. This recommendation would allow for a more effective analysis of public transport need and supply in order to report on the location of transit deserts more accurately.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:31:31.816Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2020
publishDateRange 2020
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publisher Department of Civil Engineering
publisherStr Department of Civil Engineering
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/31574 Identifying ‘transit deserts’ in a South African City – The case of Cape Town Cameron, Robert James Vanderschuren, Marianne Transport Studies This dissertation defines and describes the concept of 'transit deserts’, and the important role public transport plays in the lives of people who have few or no other alternatives. Transit deserts are defined as areas containing large portions of public transport dependent populations with limited access to private vehicles where the level of mass public transport does not adequately service the need of the populations in question (Jiao and Dillivan, 2013). The methodology to identify transit deserts (Jiao and Dillivan, 2013; Jiao, 2017) is tested in this study within a South African context, i.e. Cape Town. Since all available literature on measuring transit deserts was generated in the United States, a clearly defined modus operandi was established. Therefore, this dissertation aimed to modify and adapt the existing method to the Cape Town context. An explanation to how certain details related to the existing method were changed to be applicable to a South African city is provided in this study. The modified method involved identifying the public transport dependent population as a measure of public transport need, calculating the supply of public transport, and then measuring the gap between the need and the supply. This study will find that transit deserts exist in Cape Town and are spatially located on the outskirts of the metropolitan, in suburban and rural portions of the city. Transit gaps are also identified in previously marginilised areas known as the Cape Flats. Significantly, this study revealed the need for Cape Town to gather comprehensive transportation network data that is up-to-date and publicly available. This recommendation would allow for a more effective analysis of public transport need and supply in order to report on the location of transit deserts more accurately. 2020-03-12T13:44:55Z 2020-03-12T13:44:55Z 2019 2020-03-12T13:08:50Z Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31574 eng application/pdf Department of Civil Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
spellingShingle Transport Studies
Cameron, Robert James
Identifying ‘transit deserts’ in a South African City – The case of Cape Town
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Identifying ‘transit deserts’ in a South African City – The case of Cape Town
title_full Identifying ‘transit deserts’ in a South African City – The case of Cape Town
title_fullStr Identifying ‘transit deserts’ in a South African City – The case of Cape Town
title_full_unstemmed Identifying ‘transit deserts’ in a South African City – The case of Cape Town
title_short Identifying ‘transit deserts’ in a South African City – The case of Cape Town
title_sort identifying transit deserts in a south african city the case of cape town
topic Transport Studies
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31574
work_keys_str_mv AT cameronrobertjames identifyingtransitdesertsinasouthafricancitythecaseofcapetown