BRT moves to Tshwane, Ekurhuleni

Ekurhuleni and Tshwane have adopted the bus rapid transit system following the success of the City of Johannesburg's Rea Vaya BRT.

On Monday (9 September) the City of Johannesburg launched a new Rea Vaya route in Soweto. The route runs from Soweto through several suburbs including Noordgesig, New Canada, Pennyville, Bosmont, Coronationville, Newclare, Westbury, Westdene, Melville, Auckland Park and Parktown before heading into the Johannesburg city centre.

The new route, which is expected to ferry 40,000 passengers, is scheduled to start operating next month. The Rea Vaya has been running for four years and currently about 80,000 passengers use the R2.5bn transport system.

Lisa Seftel, City of Johannesburg head of transport, said profitability of Rea Vaya did not depend on passenger numbers alone.

"[It works] also [on] the kilometres travelled. We pay the operator for the kilometres travelled. If the operator misses a trip we penalise them, so there is incentive for performance," said Seftel.

Construction for the system's third phase, linking the city centre to Sandton, begins in November.

Tshwane, Ekurhuleni plans

Tshwane Municipality construction of its R2.6bn A Re Yeng bus rapid transit system is under way. Once the system's phase 1 is completed, 180,000 people will be transported around the city and suburbs from next year.

City of Tshwane spokesman Blessing Manale said the city's growing traffic problems could only be managed through an efficient public transport system. The system should be affordable, safe and reliable, he said.

The Ekurhuleni council will take its BRT to another level by including plans for pedestrians and cyclists.

Yolisa Mashilwane, Ekurhuleni's head of transport, said the city would promote non-motorised transport as part of the implementation of its integrated rapid public transport network (RPTN), which includes the BRT.

"The BRT, set to launch in 2016, will come with pedestrian and cyclist paths," Mashilwane said. With five transport corridors, discussions are under way to consider linking the municipality's BRT system to Johannesburg.

Ekurhuleni has applied to National Treasury's public transport infrastructure systems grant for R3.3bn over the next three years to implement its RTPN. The city received R240m to start planning for its BRT.

"The challenge is that the current system is fragmented. The buses and railways operate on their own with minibus taxis doing their own thing. We are looking for an integrated transport with a one-ticket system," said Mashilwane.

Ekurhuleni's model will result in the establishment of a bus operating company in which taxi operators will become shareholders.

Mashilwane said the city would not be a shareholder but would manage the entity. The city would also plan and implement the infrastructure and monitor the operations of the system.

Source: Sapa via I-Net Bridge