Tuesday, September 1, 2009

High Demand as BRT Gets Rolling

Johannesburg's new bus rapid transit system is already struggling to meet demands, as large crowds came out for the system's first day of service August 31.

Shiny new red and blue buses will now compete with dilapidated mini-buses and ageing trains that currently provide the backbone of South Africa's limping public transportation.

Under apartheid, the government intentionally created non-white neighbourhoods far from city centres to make it difficult for people of different races to mix.

Now transportation is a daily struggle for millions of commuters, and one of the main issues the government is trying to resolve ahead of the 2010 football World Cup.

New SAfrica bus system struggles with demand on its first day
AFP
August 31, 2009