The transportation burden faced by developing rural and urban communities on a daily
basis in South Africa is real and substantial. Many rural communities for example are still
not connected to the main rural network or are only provided with unreliable access to
socio-economic opportunities. This lack of mobility and accessibility of goods and persons
has had the effect of limiting their participation in the mainstream economy thereby
entrenching their isolation. No wonder this lack of access is regarded as one of the most
significant determinants of poverty. The problem is not transitory, that is, given time it will
pass away. Thus, the challenge for transport policies is clearly to achieve a much better
level of general mobility and accessibility, at a much lower cost. Non-motorized transport
modes provide that option. In this regard, the need for a concerted, deliberate and
systematic effort to redress this problem cannot be over-emphasised. Making use of
largely secondary data, this paper will seek to showcase as well as assess the work of the
Department of Transport running the gamut from demonstration projects, workshops,
design fiestas, to a non-motorized transport policy with a view to determining the gaps in
the current approach in terms of type and intensity of intervention options as a departure
point for crafting a much more robust implementation framework.