MEDIA RELEASE

SANRAL puts commuter safety and convenience first, with a single ticket solution to public transportation

Western Cape, 25 October 2022 – With a staggering number of households in South Africa, relying on public transport, imagine the convenience of each person having a single mobility account that covers trips on several modes of transport – hassle-free and user-friendly. Most importantly, there is no need to carry cash, a huge safety benefit.

This is the initiative the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL), in conjunction with the National Department of Transport, recently revealed to the 7th South African Roads Federation (SARF) Regional Conference for Africa.

Called the Integrated Fare Management System, SANRAL Northern Region project manager Siveshni Pillay spelled out details of the innovative plan to the Cape Town gathering of African and global road experts and decision-makers.

The principle aim of the integrated ticketing solution is to eliminate the use of cash, reduce operating costs and improve fare collection efficiency.

While the country’s public transport system needs improvement, the integrated ticketing solution option will make for smoother, efficient travelling.

The safety element of travelling without carrying cash is also a huge motivating factor.

“Despite high public transport usage and reliance, there exists huge disparities in service delivery and integration between various modes of transport,” said Pillay.

The system will allow a commuter to use the same “prepaid” card to pay for a ride on a taxi, bus or train, forming an Integrated Public Transport Network.

Said Pillay: “The administration and management of cash fares, with the concomitant security issues make fare collection onerous. The National Department of Transport’s account-based ticketing solution solves this.”

The ticket value balance will be stored on the card, enabling a top-up option. The cardholder can remain anonymous or choose to register a personalised account and this system is fully auditable.

The provision of the service that can be provided by the Transaction Clearing House (TCH) is multi-layered. The first phase is the implementation of the mobility account for use on various modes of transport.

Pillay said future integration development could include fare structuring based on the different modes of transport such as flat fare, distance based etc.) and eventually the ability to charge a commuter once for a journey that uses the services from more than one transport operator.

For example, if a commuter travels by bus to a train station where she transfers to a train to complete the journey, she would only pay once for the combined journey from start to finish.