An economics-based road classification system for South Africa Matthew Townshend School of Economics, University of Cape Town, South Africa matthew@cornerstonesa.net Professor Don Ross School of Sociology, Philosophy, Criminology, Government, and Politics, University College Cork, Ireland Center for Economic Analysis of Risk, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018 Contents Problem statement Classification criteria Road classes Prioritisation rule Basic Access Roads Strategic Roads Tactical Roads Surplus Roads Application of the classification system Questions Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018 Problem statement Mismatch between network objectives and road classification systems Network objectives: Satisfy citizens’ constitutional right to access basic services Maximise potential economic growth Classification systems: Functional classification Administrative classification Geometric classification Naming heirarchy Road Traffic Signs classification Route number classification X Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Fundamental classification criteria Small number of road classes Easy for officials to use Simple, but all practically relevant classes included Unambiguous descriptive terminology for road classes Clear, concise, distinct, objective definitions Classes are scaleless and ubiquitous across the network The entire network must be consistently classified Hierarchical contiguity Roads of the same class connect to form a continuous network Undermines efficiencies obtainable from prioritising across whole networks Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018 Economic road classes Class Description Basic Access Roads No alternative access routes to basic service centres Rural roads Reflect access norms and standards Strategic Roads High volume transport routes Inelastic demand Urban roads Tactical Roads Low to medium volume transport routes Cyclical demand Rural and peri-urban roads Surplus Roads No non-redundant basic access function Negative contribution to economic growth Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018 Prioritisation rule Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Basic Access Road Network Constitutional obligation Estimation methodology: GIS location of schools & healthcare facilities Determine fastest access routes Remove high volume roads Remove urban roads Control for access norms & standards Tool to slow rural-urban migration Estimated at 8.2% of total network No control for multi-functional roads Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Strategic Road Network Supports structural economic activities Includes more than just national roads Major transport routes between key locations Estimation methodology: Core Strategic Network (9 200km) Secondary Strategic Network (9 600km) Primary Road Network (14 000km) Urban roads Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018 Tactical Road Network Tactical Roads must make a positive contribution to economic growth This determination should be based on a structural growth model that comprises two terms: The expected cost of the road The road’s expected contribution to economic growth Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018 Surplus Road Network Surplus Roads must make a negative contribution to economic growth This determination is based on the same structural growth model Because the present value of the cost of maintaining these roads exceeds the economic contribution, authorities should unproclaim Surplus Roads and reprioritise any allocated funding towards the other productive classes This action is permissible as none of these roads form part of a household’s essential access route to basic service centres Authorities must formally unproclaim Strategic Roads, rather than simply neglecting their maintenance Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Application of the new classification system These classifications can be added as a decision variable in the RAMS by pairing the road IDs with the relevant class The intention is not to overwrite the existing classification data, but rather to include economic information that can help prioritise maintenance schedules in line with the sector’s mandates Economics-based road classification provides an objective method to help ensure no important roads are overlooked Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018

Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018 Thank you Questions? Southern African Transport Conference, 9-11 July 2018