Faculty of Engineering

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The Faculty of Engineering at Stellenbosch University is one of South Africa's major producers of top quality engineers. Established in 1944, it currently has five Engineering Departments.

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Browsing Faculty of Engineering by browse.metadata.advisor "Asekun, Olabanji"

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    Factors affecting modal choice for long-distance travel in South Africa with a focus on improving rail patronage
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-02) Kühn, Justin; Bruwer, Megan; Asekun, Olabanji; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Civil Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The patronage of long-distance passenger rail in South Africa has decreased by 90.3% between the 2009/10 and 2019/20 financial years (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, 2020a). The decline in rail passenger patronage was largely due to the decrease in the number of trains running as a result of a dispute between the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and Transnet over service prices and access to the rail network (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, 2011). PRASA has plans to revitalize the long-distance passenger rail sector. Some of the plans include upgrading selected long-distance corridors to high-speed rail and expanding the current network (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, 2019a). High-speed rail and network expansion projects are expensive and long-term solutions. Short- to medium-term solutions should also be considered to attract more passengers. To recommend solutions that can improve rail patronage, a better understanding of desired services of long-distance travellers is required. This study aims to determine the desired services of long-distance travellers to establish short- to medium-term solutions to improve long-distance rail patronage. This study evaluated the needs of long-distance travellers by asking South Africans what factors influence their long-distance modal choice through a travel survey. A study was also done to identify high-demand travel corridors in South Africa where new or improved rail services could be implemented. The modes on the corridors were investigated to identify how rail can compete against other long-distance transport modes. The information gathered from the two investigations were used to recommend solutions to improve rail services based on new strategies and strategies designed by PRASA. The survey participants identified safety as the most important factor that influenced their modal choice for long-distance transport. Participants also identified punctuality and cost as important factors, while the distance to and from stations was indicated to be the least important. The investigation of high-demand travel corridors and the information from the survey determined that the shorter corridors (between 300 to 600 km) should be the first routes to reinstate and implement the improved services on. In conjunction with reinstating long-distance passenger rail services on the identified travel corridors, PRASA should increase security. Improving the safety onboard the trains and at the stations would increase the attractiveness of rail the most. A list of more recommended solutions was given that PRASA could use to improve the other factors identified too and further increase the attractiveness of long-distance rail services.