Page 40 - SDG Report

THE ETHEKWINI SAFE TO SCHOOL, SAFE TO HOME: SCHOLAR TRANSPORT PROGRAMME AND WALK THIS WAY PROGRAMME
In recent years, the eThekwini Municipality has been plagued with road crashes involving children being transported to and from school. Further, one of the outcomes of the ‘Safe to School Safe to Home’(S2S S2H) scholar pedestrian safety project implemented by the eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA) together with the Global Road Safety Partnership ZA during 2016/18, was the principals’ and teachers’ concern about the safety of children transported to school and back home in minibus taxis.
This prompted discussions between the GRSP ZA, ETA and Toyota South Africa Motors (Pty) Ltd (TSAM) to consider the need for a road safety programme aimed at the owners and drivers of minibus taxis transporting school children. Great successes with a school bus project implemented in Cape Town served as motivation to develop something similar for eThekwini as part of the Ngizoba road safety programme
The ‘Safe to School – Safe to Home: Scholar Transport‘ programme is a pilot project in eThekwini which aims to contribute towards a reduction in death and injury from road crashes, of children travelling to and from school.
The programme provides a step-by-step approach to education, awareness and behaviour change with a focus on providers
of scholar transport, school management teams, the scholars (learners), local and regional government officials, enforcement agencies, parents, and communities. The programme is culturally sensitive and designed to be: realistic, replicable, sustainable and effective.
The programme is implemented by the Road Safety Branch of the eThekwini Transport Authority, in collaboration with the Global Road Safety Partnership SA (GRSP ZA) and supported by Toyota SA.
Project Stakeholders include: the Scholar Transport Service Providers (owners and drivers) from the participating schools, local officials from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Departments of Transport and Education, the school principals, governing body representatives, educators, learners and their parents from the participating schools, and the Durban Metro Police Department.
The project has been implemented in the southern region of the eThekwini Municipality, in suburbs and schools agreed upon by ETA and TSAM.
Participating schools have been selected in Umlazi, Kwa Makhutha, Lovu, Magabeni, Danganya and Bhekulwandle.
38 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS GOOD PRACTICE