Quality of Transport index

In line with transport month, the map highlights the overall Quality of Transport (QoT) index for the priority townships in Gauteng. The index forms part of GCRO's commissioned transport research work by Prof Christo Venter from the University of Pretoria, and provides a single measure reflecting the lived experiences of residents in the Gauteng Provincial Government's priority townships, with respect to the quality of everyday travel opportunities and dimensions. The four indicators used in the calculation of the QoT index include: within-settlement transport conditions, area-wide accessibility levels, mobility expenditure and person-specific satisfaction.

In terms of worst performers, Refilwe and Hammanskraal significantly underperform other areas, largely as a consequence of their very low scores on the Within Settlement Index. In fact these areas are worse than the provincial average in all respects, except for the mobility expenditure which is at or below the average. This suggests that in both areas inaccessibility results in suppressed travel, which could significantly reduce welfare. Other bad performers are also in peripheral locations with poor or no rail service – including Ratanda, Rethabiseng, Garankuwa, Bophelong, and Khutsong. Most townships close to the economic core of Gauteng scored around the average QoT value, including many Ekurhuleni and Soweto townships. Best performers are Soweto (East), Tembisa, and Orlando, and finally Wattville. These are all areas with both high within-settlement access, good area-wide connections to job opportunities, and low to medium transport expenditures (in terms of cost and time), indicating that residents benefit from their good location by being able to reduce the burden of travel.

The QoT index is described in full detail in GCRO's Mobility in the GCR report - a collection of transport research including historical transport trends and an analysis of the 2011 QoL survey transport questions, Gautrain stations and non-motorised transport - to be published shortly.