It will be important to establish a business environment appropriate for the provision of transport as market forces will regulate supply and demand. This will affect modal choices as well as the development of truly market-driven intermodalism. Achieving a logistics focus in the transportation industry in South Africa is important if we are to be competitive in terms of local, regional, and international transport activities. The project will determine strategies to enhance and speed up this process. The appropriate business environment, mentioned before, will be crucial in achieving this objective.
Safety is always a crucial aspect.
We need to determine the economic cost of safety and ensure that the technology used lowers the costs while improving safety levels. Despite many attempts to address this issue the carnage on our roads persists. A road safety board was set up to address this issue and also to advise the department on possible strategies that could be followed. However, this demands much more detailed attention and co-ordinated effort to make an impact on road safety. We need to identify the factors affecting South Africa's transportation system's safety record for all modes of transport and to identify technologies and means of improving safety in the system.