The Competition Commission, in its Market Inquiry Into Land Based Public Passenger Transport report, has made a number of provisional recommendations to improve the functioning of public transport in South Africa.
It has recommended that Autopax, a subsidiary of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), be separated from the PRASA group and become a separate State entity.
As such, Autopax will manage its business activities independent of PRASA and report directly to government.
The commission also recommended the PRASA Corporate Real Estate Solutions (Cres), which currently operates as a division of the PRASA group, be incorporated as a new and independent State entity to eliminate conflict of interest and “perverse incentives”.
The new State entity will manage all intermodal terminal facilities currently under PRASA Cres and other ranking facilities in partnership with municipalities.
The commission also recommended that where subsidised bus contracts are put out to tender, government should consider breaking up some of these into smaller contracts to create opportunities for new entrants and smaller bus operators.
The commission also made a number of recommendations to promote the use of public transport as an integrated system and improve coordination.
The commission announced in May 2017 that it would be undertaking a market inquiry into the sector as it had a view that there were features, or a combination of features, in the sector, that were distorting or inhibiting competition.