Minibus drivers in Johannesburg, South Africa, were not happy about plans to build a city-wide bus rapid transit system, worrying it would take their business away. After sometimes violent debates, the drivers have compromised with the city.
The minibus drivers are now able to take a stake in the new bus system.
"Early in the last decade, Johannesburg transportation officials made a strategic decision to build a public transit system that wouldn't be government owned and operated.
"Our approach was to offer the taxi industry the honest opportunity to participate," says transport economist Bongani Kupe, who worked to negotiate the agreement between the city and the taxi industry. "In the end they did not move into this because of fear or insecurity," Kupe says. " Their interest in the BRT is simply this: will I be able to make a profit?"
A heavy dose of courage, far-sightedness and a real desire for positive change lay behind this strategy. The taxi associations wield considerable clout. The industry's genesis was the urbanizing 1980s, when ‘influx control' regulations were repealed in South Africa and Africans were permitted to live in the cities."
Read the full story: Johannesburg’s Transit Breakthrough
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Atlanta City Council unanimously backs $3.5 billion Beltline light rail project
The resolution was drafted after Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens pulled support for the Atlanta Streetcar extension last year.
SEPTA to bring nearby frequent transit to over 1 million new riders as part of decade-long plan
The agency's Accelerate plan will also bring frequent transit to twice the amount of jobs that are currently located near it.
NYC plants over 18,000 trees, the most new foliage in a decade
Many of the trees were planted in communities vulnerable to extreme heat.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello