Fuel Savings As an Incentive for Speed Compliance in the Informal Public Transport Industry in South Africa

Abstract

The informal public transport industry in South Africa, primarily dominated by minibus taxis, is noted for its poor compliance to posted speed limits, if not the outright disregard thereof. Many taxis even exceed the differentiated speed limits set for the lighter passenger vehicles used for private transport. Although a few innovative on-road measures have been used to improve speed limit compliance and road safety—such as Average Speed Enforcement (ASE)—these have not satisfactorily mitigated the speeding problem associated with minibus taxis. Looking at alternative measures in the form of incentives, this paper seeks to investigate the financial benefits to minibus taxi drivers as a result of fuel savings due to speed limit compliance and safe driving. Although it is observed from the results that minibus taxi drivers do not currently take advantage of fuel-saving driving patterns, it is also proven that, based on their current driving patterns, these drivers could potentially increase their remuneration per weekend by as much as 173% should they comply with posted speed limits.