LA LUCIA RIDGE AND UMHLANGA RIDGE
CHAPTER 5 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF QUESTIONNAIRES
5.2. QUESTION 2: EXISTING PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Page | 139 25% of respondents who work in Durban CBD live in Pinetown and said the travel distance to work is approximately 10km with a travel time of 15 minutes during off- peak times and 30 minutes during peak times. This respondent uses public transport.
5.1.2. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The results of Question 1 illustrate the distance between the respondents’ places of residence and their places of work, as well as the time it takes for them to travel between the two.
The respondents who work in La Lucia / Umhlanga live between 15 and 35 km from work with travel times that vary from 20 minutes to 2 hours.
The respondents who work in Berea / Morningside live between 1 and 32km from work with travel times that vary from 5 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes.
The respondents who work in Durban CBD live between 7 and 30km from work with travel times that vary between 15 and 60 minutes.
Page | 140
Table 3: Public / Communal transport available in the areas in which the respondents live.
5.2.1.1. Available Public Transport in Residential Locations
AVAILABLE PUBLIC / COMMUNAL TRANSPORT
RESIDENTIAL LOCATIONS
Glenwood Metered Taxi; Minibus Taxi; Bus; Car Sharing Berea / Morningside Metered Taxi; Minibus Taxi; Bus; Car Sharing
Pinetown Train; Minibus Taxi; Bus
Hillcrest / Gilletts Minibus Taxi; Car Sharing
Reservoir Hills Minibus Taxi; Bus
Chatsworth Minibus Taxi; Bus; Car Sharing
Phoenix Car Sharing
Durban North Metered Taxi; Minibus Taxi; Bus; Car Sharing
Isipingo Minibus Taxi; Car Sharing
Durban CBD Metered Taxi; Minibus Taxi; Bus
Bluff Train; Metered Taxi; Minibus Taxi; Bus; Car Sharing
One respondent who does not use public transport added in their answer that there is no single mode of transport that will get them from their place of residence to their place of work. Another said that there is no direct bus from their place of residence to their place of work, whilst another said that all public transport terminates and begins in the CBD and is inconvenient if one needs only to go to a neighbouring suburb.
5.2.1.2. Available Public Transport in Office Locations
AVAILABLE PUBLIC / COMMUNAL TRANSPORT
OFFICE LOCATION
Durban CBD Metered Taxi; Minibus Taxi; Bus; Car Sharing Berea / Morningside Metered Taxi; Minibus Taxi; Bus; Car Sharing La Lucia / Umhlanga Metered Taxi; Minibus Taxi; Bus; Car Sharing
As Table 4 shows, all of the office locations in which the respondents work have access to metered taxis, mini-bus taxis, buses and car sharing. But despite the fact that Durban CBD does have a train station, albeit on the
Table 4: Public / Communal transport available in the areas in which the respondents work.
Page | 141 outskirts of the CBD, the respondents who work in the CBD did not mention the availability of the train station.
5.2.1.3. Public Transport Users
21% of the respondents use public transport to get to and from work.
The first respondent lives in Chatsworth and works in Durban CBD. This respondent uses the bus because she feels it is cheaper and safer to use. This respondent also said that the public transport system is difficult to understand due to its inefficiency.
The second respondent lives in Pinetown and works in Durban CBD. This respondent uses mini-bus taxis and buses because they are convenient and cheap. This respondent finds the public transport system easy to understand because it follows simple rules and it is available at all times.
The third respondent lives in Pinetown and works in Berea / Morningside.
This respondent uses mini-bus taxis to get to and from work because he finds that the buses are too crowded after coming from the townships, and because of this they do not stop to pick up more passengers. This respondent says that the public transport system is difficult to understand due to its irregular schedule of operation.
The fourth respondent lives in Glenwood and works in Umhlanga. She uses mini-bus taxis because they are fast, and because they use the freeway as opposed to buses which travel through the suburbs. She finds the public transport system easy to understand because it is simple.
The fifth respondent lives in Phoenix and works in Berea / Morningside. This respondent uses taxi or car sharing as a means to get to and from work because she says communal travel is safer and that the public transport system is difficult to understand.
5.2.2 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Due to the personal nature of this question, it is difficult to come out with a definitive conclusion although the data presented here does allow for discussion.
It appears that the respondents who use private transport are more-or-less unaware of the available transport in the areas in which they live and work. This could be a result of two scenarios: the first could be that the public transport that is available is not
Page | 142 marketed well enough, resulting in people choosing to use private transport because obtaining information on public transport timetables and routes requires a large amount of effort; or it is because the respondents own a car that they are ignorant at the available public transport because it does not concern them.
It can be seen that metered taxis, mini-bus taxis, buses and car sharing are available in Berea / Morningside, La Lucia / Umhlanga and Durban CBD, although as mentioned in section 5.2.1.3 a train station does exist in Durban CBD but none of the
respondents felt it useful enough to add to their list of available modes of public transport.
60% of the respondents who use public transport say that the public transport that is available is difficult to understand. The 40% that said the public transport system was easy to understand have probably used it extensively and frequently, thus
understanding exactly how the system works.