Some Initial Thoughts on Assessing Monitoring and Evaluation of the Tshwane Metropolitan Public Transportation Intervention

Abstract

Sprawled spatial patterns and fragmented infrastructure have contributed to the ineffective public transportation systems in South African cities, including Tshwane. As a response, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) intervention is an integral component of the Public Transport strategy meant to address this challenge. Since the onset of its implementation in 2009, scholars and other interested parties have assessed the Public Transport strategy more broadly or its components or programmes. One of the components assessed is its effectiveness with regards to addressing public transportation challenges. Some of these assessments have reported positive changes in public transport operations. However, other scholars feel that public transport challenges are still evident. Therefore, the mixed messages could be the problematic monitoring and evaluation system of this intervention, either the lack or ineffective instutionalisation of the monitoring and evaluation arrangements or its alignment to the policy aim and objectives. For this reason, this research intends to assess the monitoring and evaluating arrangements for tracking and assessing the Tshwane metropolitan public transportation intervention. This paper, however, is restricted to conceptualise such a research. To do so, we undertake a thematic summative content analysis to interrogate literature on (i.) the research physical context or setting, (ii.) the research problem, and (iii.) the research knowledge gap. Further and exclusively to the research problem analysis, the paper applies the problem tree, the theory of constraint, and trend analysis to interrogating literature on ineffective public transportation systems. This interrogation provides for conceptualising an appropriate research problem statement as well as the accompanying research purpose statement and the research questions for such a research. We also propose the research strategy, design, procedure and methods as well as established frameworks that we can use to interpret the anticipated empirical results.