A Framework For Improving Stakeholders’ Acceptance Of Public Transportation Infrastructure Projects In Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa

Abstract

Quality and resilient transportation infrastructure plays a significant role in the socio-economic development of any nation. To underscore this, Goal 9 of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is devoted to the provision of quality and resilient transportation infrastructure. Despite its obvious significance, providing quality and resilient infrastructure is hampered by the chances of its non-acceptance by critical stakeholders from both developed and developing nations. Practical aftermaths of such a scenario can be seen in such transportation problems as traffic congestion, delays and accidents. This in turn leads to a slow pace of socio-economic development. A careful survey of available literature indicates that the prevailing non-prioritisation of this critical socio-economic infrastructure is traceable to the aloofness of stakeholders, poor communication among them, the location of projects, inadequate knowledge of infrastructure, project environmental impact, lack of trust, and administrative bottlenecks. However, the Bloemfontein Courant (15 December 2016; 22 July 2019) and Vaidyanathan, King and Jong (2017) have indicated that the rejection of some public transportation infrastructure projects or assets is closely related to planning and design parameters of the projects. For instance, the Mangaung Intermodal Transport Facility, the Bloemfontein Bus Station and the Bangalore Municipal Road projects are being opposed by some stakeholders on this basis. Nevertheless, critical studies on the planning and design parameters that influence stakeholders to accept or reject public transportation infrastructure, particularly in South Africa, are few. This study is, thus, aimed at developing a framework of planning and design parameters of public transportation infrastructure for improving their acceptability chances by stakeholders in South Africa. Put differently, this study evaluates the nexus between stakeholders’ acceptance factors and the planning and design factors of public transportation infrastructure and proposes a framework for improved acceptance of such infrastructure projects by stakeholders in the cities of South Africa. For this purpose, two important public road transportation infrastructure, namely the Central Park Interstate Busline Terminal and Mangaung Intermodal Transport Facility served as the sources of data. The data were collected through a survey method that included physical observation, measurements and administration of a questionnaire among selected stakeholders. Empirical models and statistical methods were used for the quantitative data analysis. The Interpretive Structural Model (ISM) was subsequently employed to develop a framework for planning and design of the public transportation infrastructure. The findings of this study demonstrate that public transportation infrastructure projects should be planned with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the process. The study also established that the choice of design parameters should be in accordance with approved standards and specifications. A careful consideration of these during the pre-construction stage of a project enhances proper public transportation infrastructure project delivery and minimises mobility challenges. The developed framework can provide a project management team with guidance on identifying critical planning and design parameters that influence stakeholders’ acceptance.