Identifying transport policy gaps in student travel demand management in South Africa

Abstract

Background: Travel demand in higher education precincts is derived from the affordability of university education, the availability of student accommodation on- or off-campus and the manner in which university mobility is managed.

Objectives: This article described the transport policy environment for student travel behaviour through the process of integrated policy analysis (PIPA) with the primary aim of outlining the major directions of student mobility management from peer-reviewed literature.

Method: Gaps in the South African transport policy environment were identified for university student mobility as a result of the official policy position neglecting the segment and 7 of 26 public universities acting upon these markets without enabling legislation.

Results: It was found that measures associated with managing travel demand demarcate mobility management practices. Through the literature, the article found that (1) the policy environment lags behind university interventions, which resonate with international evidence; (2) international evidence reveals that multiple directions for managing travel demand for university precincts; and (3) there is a need to reform the mobility and access policies for university precincts in South Africa (SA).

Conclusion: In essence, the literature review presented heterogenous contexts and techniques to specify mobility and access problems and redress them. This enhanced the quality of policy design, evaluation and implementation particularly for integrated transport planning in SA. The primary limit of this study was that it is a policy review, relying heavily on secondary data to set the scene for future research.