A Re Yeng construction gets environmentally friendly

© LianeM - Fotolia.com

The city said 300 wild olive trees will add to the usual site of rubble and yellow barriers on the construction sites for the bus rapid transit service. The planting of the trees will also play a role in mitigating emissions from motorised transport.

"The placement or positioning of the trees at the A Re Yeng construction sites is an important aspect of the buses. It signals that A Re Yeng buses are environmentally friendly.

"Some of the fleet of buses to be procured will be operated on compressed natural gas (CNG), which is a more environmentally friendly fuel than diesel," said the city in a statement.

The distribution of the trees will start at the Sunnyside construction site. The trees will be maintained three times a week.

Earlier this month, the city said the first phase of the much-awaited Tshwane Rapid Transit (TRT) A Re Yeng (Let's Go) bus system was now 80% complete.

The entire A Re Yeng route will extend from Kopanong in Soshanguve, via Rainbow Junction and the Central Business District (CBD) to Menlyn (with a branch to Hatfield), ending in Mamelodi.

The manufacturing phase of the Volvo Gran Viale buses, which will be used for the inception phase of A Re Yeng operations, is nearing completion.

The inception phase is approximately 7km long and runs from the Pretoria CBD, from the corner of Nana Sita and Paul Kruger Streets in the west to Hatfield in the east, via Sunnyside and connects to the Gautrain Station in Hatfield.

This phase will have seven stations along the route - two in the CBD, three in Sunnyside, one at Loftus Stadium and the one in Hatfield.

The first fleet of 15 buses, to be used for training and testing, will be delivered by the end of April 2014.

The second fleet of 15 buses, also for the inception phase, is to be delivered in May 2014.