Reviewing South Africa’s Public Transport Grant System

Realized in South Africa

Reviewing South Africa’s Public Transport Grant System

South Africa is home to about 60 million citizens. These citizens need to be able to travel and be mobile for personal and national development. The government is supporting public transport in the form of grants.

The challenge

Rebel, in conjunction with PCFS, was enlisted as part of a broader World Bank assignment. This assignment was aimed at examining South Africa’s current funding and financing frameworks relevant for current road-based public transport subsidies (amounting to 31 Billion ZAR per annum) and make recommendations for re-structuring the grant instruments.

The approach

As a part of the project, the following activities were undergone. It started with an analysis of existing grant instruments’ strengths and weaknesses including expenditure and value for money analysis as well as a review of existing contract mechanisms and performance data. Then an international case study review of systems in the Netherlands and United States was conducted.

Based on the results recommendations were made on modifications to grant allocation procedures, monitoring and evaluations, local government responsibilities and contributions, and re-design of specific grant instruments.

Impact

Supporting South Africa’s public transport through analyzing existing grants and a case study.