Associations of Public Transport Ridership with Subjective Safety and Security in Johannesburg, South Africa

Commuters in developing countries, in particular, South Africa (SA), spend up to a third of their income on commuting trips using public transport (PT). However, it is assumed that PT in SA is insecure and unsafe owing to crime in and around terminals, poorly maintained vehicles, and reckless driving. The lack of security perceived by end-users still requires critical empirical analysis. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the interrelations of perceived security and safety with using public transportation for commute trips and non-commute trips in South Africa, represented by Johannesburg. The findings revealed that insecurity when using PT, direct experience of crime while using minibus taxis, indirect experience of crime in the PT by night and in the trains, lack of police and/guards in the public transit system, poor quality vehicles and infrastructure were the factors that significantly influence public transit ridership for commute trips. Additionally, experiencing crime in a bus, availability of transit stops, vandalism and graffiti were found to influence public transit ridership for non-commute trips. Young people perceived security and safety risks less than older people. Urban planners need to improve security and safety in public transit, which tends to discourage some commuters from riding PT. However, there was evidence of captive users of public transit who continue to use PT even though they experience crime incidents. Captive users should be turned into satisfied users to sustain PT ridership.