{ "schemaVersion": "1.0.0", "constitutionVersion": "1.0.0", "createdAt": "2026-08-12T00:00:00Z", "description": "Append-only Evidence Passport records. Old revisions are immutable; corrections create a new revision and preserve the previous permalink.", "entity": { "type": "project", "id": "johannesburg-jra-signal-monitoring", "title": "Johannesburg's Traffic Signals: Remote Fault Monitoring and the Backup Batteries That Were Stolen", "canonicalUrl": "https://1001smartcities.org/projects/johannesburg-jra-signal-monitoring/" }, "currentRevisionId": "2026-10-11-baseline", "revisions": [ { "id": "2026-10-11-baseline", "createdAt": "2026-10-11T20:15:23Z", "effectiveAt": "2026-10-11", "changeType": "baseline", "summary": "Created the first structured Evidence Passport with 12 claims and 9 source dossiers.", "preparedBy": { "type": "automation", "label": "AI-assisted evidence preparation", "humanApproved": false }, "review": { "status": "unreviewed", "by": null, "date": null, "note": "Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither." }, "changes": [ { "operation": "add", "path": "/evidencePassport", "summary": "Added claim-level evidence mapping and source dossiers." }, { "operation": "add", "path": "/revisionHistory", "summary": "Established a permanent, hash-addressed baseline revision." } ], "snapshotHash": "sha256:074b96f94835b67c5204e0aa5756781dadff208ab9db3ff3d66a7a905e1413cb", "snapshot": { "asOf": "2026-10-11", "projectFingerprint": "sha256:bda00fd35c7277bf5d58598c2809dfca1acb20b50d097596efd246d38130757c", "assurance": { "status": "unreviewed", "scope": "evidence-passport-revision", "statement": "AI-assisted structural preparation. This revision has not been reviewed by a human or subject-matter expert.", "machineChecks": [ "schema", "publication-diff-contract", "material-project-fingerprint", "claim-text-drift", "source-reference-resolution", "complete-source-dossier", "snapshot-hash" ] }, "projectState": { "status": "live", "outcome": "ongoing", "evidenceGrade": "official", "timeline": { "started": 2014, "ended": null } }, "governance": { "operator": "Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), a municipal entity wholly owned by the City of Johannesburg; the Gauteng provincial government manages a further 275 intersections on major roads", "actorTypes": [ "city-government", "regional-government", "private" ], "fundingModel": "mixed", "fundingDescription": "City of Johannesburg capital budget through the JRA; backup power at selected intersections funded and maintained by private partner companies (over 40 by January 2025)", "cost": "R28 million on controllers and R40 million on cables over the three years to 2016 (JRA); repair backlog from theft, vandalism and accidents above R70 million (January 2025)", "ownership": null, "decisionRights": null, "exitConditions": null }, "claims": [ { "id": "clm-192a462120dc4c85", "field": "snippet", "text": "The Johannesburg Roads Agency, wholly owned by the City, runs the city's traffic signals", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-21b17eed92a43870" ], "supportNote": "The agency's own 2021 statement says it is responsible for traffic lights in the City of Johannesburg and describes itself as a City-owned agency.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-2a4481e3a6916430", "field": "snippet", "text": "2,023 signalised intersections in January 2025; the province manages 275 more", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-8c108d94b7047901", "src-c3700e3f06ef8547" ], "supportNote": "The City's January 2025 article puts the network at 2,023 signalised intersections; the Daily Maverick interview the same week adds that the province manages 275, mostly on major roads.", "caveat": "The agency's own counts move between statements: 2,111 in its 2015 controller article, 2,300 in February 2021, 2,023 in January 2025 and 2,025 in July 2025.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-c8a5fd7e68a8ba74", "field": "snippet", "text": "In May 2014 it launched the Find&Fix app for GPS-tagged photo reports of dead signals", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-b835fbc96f92f5b7" ], "supportNote": "The launch report records the official launch on 14 May 2014 at Microsoft's Bryanston office and the app's use of GPS and camera technology to report potholes, faulty traffic signals, drains and manhole covers.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-0a27a44233eb885a", "field": "snippet", "text": "by 2016 was fitting Remote Monitoring Systems to its signal controllers", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-3dc1c30e080a0fab", "src-87f9c4a2bde16d35" ], "supportNote": "In March 2016 the trade press reported, quoting the acting managing director, that monitoring systems were being installed at intersections to detect faults and alert the Traffic Operations Centre; the agency's own controller-replacement article says the new controllers incorporate remote monitoring.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-9e7c24fc02f7b724", "field": "snippet", "text": "by January 2025 it said these covered over 80% of controllers and caught over 90% of faults before the public noticed", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-8c108d94b7047901" ], "supportNote": "The City's article quotes the JRA that Remote Monitoring Systems are installed on more than 80% of its traffic light controllers and detect and report over 90% of faults before they become apparent to the public.", "caveat": "Both percentages are the agency's own statement; no audit of the detection rate has been located.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-bb5aa1d36e3341db", "field": "snippet", "text": "The agency put power-related outages at about 31% of lights at any time, 51% during load shedding", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-c3700e3f06ef8547" ], "supportNote": "In the Daily Maverick interview the city's head of mobility says power-related issues affect about 31% of lights at any given time, rising to 51% during load shedding.", "caveat": "The same interview says 80% of JRA-managed signals were working at any given time; the two measures are reported side by side here, not reconciled.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-b98bdaeb454e7884", "field": "snippet", "text": "of 1,400 backup batteries installed fewer than 15 still worked after theft", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-8c108d94b7047901", "src-c3700e3f06ef8547" ], "supportNote": "The City's article states that of the 1,400 UPS units installed at critical intersections fewer than 15 remain operational and that efforts to bridge outages with UPS systems have been hampered by theft; the Daily Maverick interview repeats the figures.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-b519e7b30b0b50c2", "field": "impact", "text": "79.49% of reported faulty traffic signals were repaired within 24 hours, 88.67% within 48 hours and 96.29% within seven days, against service standards of 40%, 60% and 80%", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-e712495624a1fb5d" ], "supportNote": "Table 90 of the City's integrated annual report lists the JRA's 2024/25 service delivery standards and results for reported faulty traffic signals: 40% within 24 working hours (79.49% achieved), 60% within 48 hours (88.67%) and 80% within 168 hours (96.29%).", "caveat": "The figures are the entity's own reporting as reproduced in the City's report; the 24-hour standard counts working hours.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-51d4cc157d9d85c9", "field": "impact", "text": "the JRA told Daily Maverick in January 2025 that 80% of the signals it manages were working at any given time in the quarter to December 2024", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-c3700e3f06ef8547" ], "supportNote": "Asked whether 83% of its signals work at any given time on average, the agency answered that as of the second quarter ending December 2024 the number was slightly lower at 80%.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-11c28b72fe3cdaca", "field": "impact", "text": "the agency claimed in 2015 that the average time to resolve requests logged through Find&Fix had fallen to six days", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-411a9bbcb292bea8" ], "supportNote": "The City's 2015 article quotes the JRA managing director that over the preceding six months the average time to resolve service requests logged via Find&Fix had been reduced to six days.", "caveat": "An operator claim; at launch in 2014 the agency had promised a response within 24 hours.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-012e1b16c19c0988", "field": "lesson", "text": "200 backup batteries installed in 2006, 1,400 units later and fewer than 15 working by 2025, a repair backlog above R70 million", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-87f9c4a2bde16d35", "src-8c108d94b7047901" ], "supportNote": "The agency's controller article says it installed 200 back-up batteries (UPS) in 2006 at key intersections; the City's January 2025 article says fewer than 15 of 1,400 UPS units remain operational and that the repair backlog from theft, vandalism and accidents exceeds R70 million.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-2e1d74719b853e5b", "field": "lesson", "text": "a search for private firms to wire signals to their own backup power and for controller boxes with electronic locks and alarms", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-8c108d94b7047901", "src-578f4e2824e1aaa3" ], "supportNote": "The City's article says the JRA has partnered with over 40 companies to connect traffic signals near their buildings to backup power, with more than 80 intersections linked; the July 2025 media-tour report describes new controller boxes that open only by electronic access and raise alarms at the city's Integrated Intelligence Operations Centre.", "caveat": "In July 2025 the agency said it was still testing the secured boxes and had not settled on a solution for citywide rollout.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } } ], "sources": [ { "id": "src-e712495624a1fb5d", "title": "City of Johannesburg — Integrated Annual Report 2024/25 (Council version)", "url": "https://www.joburg.org.za/documents_/Documents/2023-24-Annual-Report/Final%20CoJ%202024.25%20Integrated%20Annual%20Report_Council.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "joburg.org.za", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-b519e7b30b0b50c2" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-10-11", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-10-11", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The City's integrated annual report for the year to 30 June 2025, approved by Council in January 2026. Table 90 (JRA service delivery standards, page 135) reports 79.49% of reported faulty traffic signals repaired within 24 working hours, 88.67% within 48 hours and 96.29% within 168 hours against standards of 40%, 60% and 80%; section 2.8 on smart city programmes rates the JRA's remote monitoring, LED lighting and UPS projects as moderate performers that spent 65–98% of their budgets.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-8c108d94b7047901", "title": "City of Johannesburg — JRA battles vandalism to keep Joburg traffic on the go (22 Jan 2025)", "url": "https://joburg.org.za/media_/Newsroom/Pages/2025-News-Articles/JRA-battles-vandalism-to-keep-Joburg-traffic-on-the-go.aspx", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "joburg.org.za", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-2a4481e3a6916430", "clm-9e7c24fc02f7b724", "clm-b98bdaeb454e7884", "clm-012e1b16c19c0988", "clm-2e1d74719b853e5b" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2025-01-22", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-10-11", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-10-11", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "City newsroom article quoting JRA chief executive Zweli Nyathi: 2,023 signalised intersections with over 16,000 poles and 2,023 controller boxes; Remote Monitoring Systems on more than 80% of controllers detecting over 90% of faults before the public notices; over 360 open cases of vandalism and theft; a repair backlog above R70 million; of 1,400 UPS units installed, fewer than 15 operational; over 40 partner companies and more than 80 intersections linked to private backup power.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-c3700e3f06ef8547", "title": "Daily Maverick (Ferial Haffajee) — The real story of Joburg's dysfunctional robots (27 Jan 2025)", "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-27-real-story-of-joburgs-dysfunctional-robots/", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "dailymaverick.co.za", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-2a4481e3a6916430", "clm-bb5aa1d36e3341db", "clm-b98bdaeb454e7884", "clm-51d4cc157d9d85c9" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2025-01-27", "updatedAt": "2025-01-28", "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-10-11", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-10-11", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Question-and-answer piece with the city's head of mobility Sipho Nhlapo. States that the JRA is responsible for 2,023 intersections while the province manages 275; that power-related issues affect about 31% of lights at any given time, rising to 51% during load shedding; that 80% of JRA-managed signals were working at any given time in the quarter to December 2024; that over 1,400 UPS boxes were installed and theft reduced the number to fewer than 15; and that a remote monitoring system reports faults to the agency's teams before the public notices.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-578f4e2824e1aaa3", "title": "Engineering News — Joburg testing technology to combat traffic light theft, vandalism (15 Jul 2025)", "url": "https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/joburg-testing-technology-to-combat-traffic-light-theft-vandalism-2025-07-15", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "engineeringnews.co.za", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-2e1d74719b853e5b" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2025-07-15", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-10-11", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-10-11", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Report from a JRA media tour. States that the agency managed 2,025 traffic signal intersections, 750 of them semi vehicle-actuated and 25 fully actuated; that it is deploying secured controller boxes opened only by an electronic access system, with cameras and sensors whose alarms go to the city's Integrated Intelligence Operations Centre; that rebuilding a vandalised intersection costs R500,000 to R1.5 million; and that 84% of traffic signal faults were repaired within 24 to 48 hours. Quotes Sipho Nhlapo and traffic engineering operations manager Esther Schmidt.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-21b17eed92a43870", "title": "Johannesburg Roads Agency — The economic impact of theft and vandalism on traffic signals (17 Feb 2021)", "url": "https://jra.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ECONOMIC_IMPACT_THEFT-1.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "jra.org.za", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-192a462120dc4c85" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2021-02-17", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-10-11", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-10-11", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "JRA media statement. States that the agency is responsible for traffic lights in the City of Johannesburg and is City-owned; that it managed 2,300 signalised intersections on municipal and provincial roads; that its Remote Monitoring System identifies faults so technicians can be dispatched before they are reported; that theft and vandalism cost over R37 million in three financial years and 196 intersections were vandalised in 2020/21; and lists the Find&Fix mobile app among its reporting channels.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-3dc1c30e080a0fab", "title": "Freight News — Goodbye to flashing traffic lights? (25 Mar 2016)", "url": "https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/goodbye-to-flashing-traffic-lights?page=35", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "freightnews.co.za", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-0a27a44233eb885a" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2016-03-25", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-10-11", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-10-11", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Trade-press report quoting the JRA's acting managing director Mpho Kau. States that remote monitoring systems were being installed at intersections to detect faults and alert the agency's Traffic Operations Centre, and that R28 million had been spent over three years replacing ageing controllers and R40 million replacing lead-encased cables.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-87f9c4a2bde16d35", "title": "Johannesburg Roads Agency — JRA replaces old traffic light controller boxes", "url": "https://www.jra.org.za/jra-replaces-old-traffic-light-controller-boxes/", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "jra.org.za", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-0a27a44233eb885a", "clm-012e1b16c19c0988" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-10-11", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-10-11", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Undated JRA web article from the 2015 controller-replacement programme. States that the City's 2,111 traffic signals included about 600 controllers older than 15 years to be replaced by June 2015; that the new controllers incorporate remote monitoring and GPS clocks; and that in 2006 the agency installed 200 back-up batteries (UPS) giving up to seven hours of backup at key intersections, 50 of which were to be reinstated in heavy-duty cabinets.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-b835fbc96f92f5b7", "title": "Randburg Sun / The Citizen — Road agency launches mobile app (15 May 2014)", "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/randburg-sun/news-headlines/2014/05/15/road-agency-launches-mobile-app-2/", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "citizen.co.za", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-c8a5fd7e68a8ba74" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2014-05-15", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-10-11", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-10-11", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Local-press report of the launch. States that the JRA officially launched the Find and Fix app at Microsoft's Bryanston office on 14 May 2014 to report potholes, faulty traffic signals, storm water drains and manhole covers using GPS and camera technology, and attributes to the agency the claim that it was the first of its kind in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-411a9bbcb292bea8", "title": "City of Johannesburg — Find & Fix app finds favour with Jozi residents (2015)", "url": "https://www.joburg.org.za/media_/Newsroom/Pages/2016%20&%202015%20Articles/Find-&-Fix-app-finds-favour-with-Jozi-residents.aspx", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "joburg.org.za", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-11c28b72fe3cdaca" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-10-11", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-10-11", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "City newsroom article; the page shows no date and places itself in 2015 by referring to the launch in May of the previous year. States that 13,000 residents were using the app, that logged breakdowns averaged 5,000 a month and almost 28,000 in total, and quotes managing director Skhumbuzo Macozoma that the average time to resolve requests logged via Find&Fix had been reduced to six days over the preceding six months.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } } ], "coverage": { "claimsTotal": 12, "claimsMapped": 12, "sourcesTotal": 9, "sourcesUsedByClaims": 9, "sourcesWithPublicationDate": 6, "sourcesWithArchive": 0, "sourcesWithExactLocator": 0, "sourcesWithContentHash": 0 }, "limits": [ "Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.", "Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.", "A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.", "The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim." ] } } ] }