Transport Minister Barbara Creecy will on Thursday officially launch South Africa’s 2026 October Transport Month campaign, with the country’s transport system, road safety and the performance of major transport entities set to come under scrutiny.
The launch takes place at the UNISA School of Business Leadership in Midrand, Gauteng, where Creecy will deliver the keynote address under the theme, “Progress in improving reliability, safety, sustainability and affordability of the transport system.”
The high-level event is being hosted by the UNISA Graduate School of Business Leadership in partnership with the National Press Club and the Department of Transport.
Creecy will be joined by Deputy Transport Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa, who is expected to discuss the national rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO), the turnaround programme at the Road Accident Fund (RAF) and the National Road Safety Strategy.
The event comes as road deaths remain one of the country’s major transport challenges.
According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s latest State of Road Safety report, 11,485 people died in road crashes in 2025, down from 12,172 deaths recorded in 2024. Fatal crashes also declined from 10,339 in 2024 to 9,734 in 2025.
Despite the decline, the number of people killed on South African roads remains high, with the 2025 figure averaging more than 31 deaths a day.
Pedestrians accounted for 45% of road fatalities in 2025, making them the most vulnerable group of road users, according to the RTMC. Three quarters of those killed were male, while children aged between zero and 14 accounted for 8.9% of all road deaths.
The RTMC said the estimated economic cost of road crashes also remained substantial, although it fell from R217.53 billion in 2024 to R198.30 billion in 2025.
The transport sector faces challenges beyond road safety, including the reliability of passenger rail, the movement of freight, the condition of roads and the financial sustainability of key transport entities.
The dialogue will bring together six chief executives from major transport agencies for direct engagement with the media on performance, reform and service delivery.
They are SANRAL CEO Reginald Demana, Transnet Group CEO Michelle Phillips, PRASA Group CEO Hishaam Emeran, Cross-Border Road Transport Agency CEO Lwazi Mboyi, RAF CEO Waseem Carrim and Road Traffic Infringement Agency Registrar and CEO Matsemela Moloi.
The CEOs are expected to account for the performance of their respective entities and discuss reforms aimed at improving transport services.
For commuters, rail reliability remains a key issue, while the road freight industry depends heavily on functioning roads and efficient links to ports and border crossings.
The department has also been working on reforms to improve road safety. During a September 2026 road safety practitioners’ colloquium, Creecy said road safety needed to evolve from a government-led programme into a broader societal movement, with collaboration, innovation and accountability forming part of efforts to reduce deaths.
The National Road Safety Strategy has set a target of reducing road fatalities by 50% by 2030, compared with the 13,967 deaths recorded in 2010. However, the RTMC reported that the 2024 total of 12,172 fatalities remained above the 10,900 target for that year.
The October Transport Month campaign is intended to highlight the role of transport in the economy and the daily lives of South Africans.
The event will be attended by provincial transport MECs and heads of department, chairpersons and CEOs of transport entities, members of the National Department of Transport executive committee, industry leaders, the chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport and members of the media.
The programme begins at 9.30am, with the formal proceedings scheduled for 10am at the UNISA School of Business Leadership’s Midrand campus.
With more than 11,000 people still losing their lives on the country’s roads annually, road safety is expected to remain a central issue as government sets out its transport priorities for the month ahead.
