Planned and paratransit service integration through trunk and feeder arrangements: an international review

Abstract

Paper presented at the 31st Annual Southern African Transport Conference 9-12 July 2012 "Getting Southern Africa to Work", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.

This paper explores the management of ‘hybrid’ public transport systems comprised of both ‘planned’ and ‘paratransit’ services. Three categories of such hybrid systems can be identified: (1) cities with the least recognition of the role of ‘paratransit’ services in their public transport system transformation process; (2) cities with the greatest recognition of the role of ‘paratransit’ services; and (3) cities that modified an initial plan in order to give a more important role to paratransit than originally conceived. The latter category of hybridity is of potential interest to South African cities with respect to how the interface between planned and paratransit services might be managed. Of a set of alternative regulatory approaches that have been applied in cities that fall into this category (including, separate roads, connecting corridors, shared corridors, peak-lopping and trunk and feeder approaches), trunk and feeder arrangements are explored further in this paper. Three approaches to planned-paratransit service integration through trunk and feeder arrangements are reviewed: (1) reward schemes; (2) feeder area licencing; and (3) concessioning. The experiences and outcomes of cities that have implemented these approaches are investigated. The paper concludes with a discussion on future research requirements to explore potential relevance to the South African context.