Intersecting rationalities: Negotiating a process of inclusion between the minibus taxi industry and the BRT system

Abstract

The thesis investigates the politics and everyday processes of public transport reform in South Africa through a case study of the City of Ekurhuleni’s Integrated Rapid Public Transport Plan (IRPTP) process and the interim negotiations between the City and the Ekurhuleni Taxi Industry between 2016 and 2022. The process and negotiations that unfolded aimed at the implementation of a BRT system in South African cities including Ekurhuleni. The study explores how differences and conflicts were addressed between the two most powerful stakeholders involved in this process, the City of Ekurhuleni and the local taxi industry. The analysis takes on a “sympathetic critique” of Watson’s (2008) notion of conflicting rationalities and a later review by De Satgé and Watson (2018). The study is positioned closer to the idea of entangled rationalities in De Satgé and Watson (2018) It shows that there is more intersection and mutuality between the state and informal actors than is presented by Watson (2008). The study adopts a qualitative approach and various methodologies such as participant observation, interviews, and archival analysis. To unveil the crevices between these two powerful stakeholders, the researcher employed participant observation as one of the main methods. The researcher spent a year each in both institutions; first as a representative of the city government and subsequently as a representative of the taxi industry. The study finds out that disagreements between the city government and the taxi industry had less to do with conflicting views and values about planning and development, as proposed in the theories of conflicting rationality, and more to do with competition and power struggles. There was a limitation for the potential for mutuality and collaboration to take place as the scope of the transit reform had already been decided by the City of Ekurhuleni prior to consultation, and that the negotiations were around the implementation of a pre-defined idea without the possibility of open debate. Nevertheless, while the negotiation stalled it did not spiral into violence. This case study is significant in that serves as a case study for conflict mitigation and exploring potential for mutuality and more collaborative forms of engagement in cases of extreme conflict in urban development projects.