Violence on Johannesburg's New BRT Routes Puts Some Commuters on Edge

Recent violent attacks on Johannesburg's new Rea Vaya bus rapid transit line has some commuters worried about the safety of the system, and possible further revenge attacks from the taxi industry. Two attacks took place on the first day of new routes through Soweto. One person dies and eight others were injured.

A small group of commuters gathered at a rainy Protea Boulevard to catch a bus that would drive right past the local taxi rank.

"With these taxi people, anything can happen," said Morgan Masango, a Protea Glen resident who was escorting his wife to the city, "but hopefully the police will protect us."

And there was a heavy police presence - each Rea Vaya bus was accompanied by a police vehicle, blue-lights flashing as a warning to would-be attackers.

Some jitters, but commuters board BRT buses
The Star
May 4, 2010

Thanks to Morgan Boyco for the link!

Section of Johannesburg BRT Won't Be Ready in Time for Cup

One of the most important stretches of bus rapid transit route in Johannesburg will not be complete in time for the World Cup.

"Unfortunately, the very vital route along Oxford Road to Sandton will now not be ready in time (and) the Department of Transport has yet to announce the alternative transport plan between Sandton and Park Station (in the city centre) along Oxford Road," said DA spokesperson on transport in the city, Nico de Jager.

The BRT was implemented between Johannesburg central and Soweto in August last year. On Monday, further extensions of feeder routes to Protea Glen and Eldorado Park were launched.

BRT won't be on time for SWC
News 24
May 3, 2010

Johannesburg's BRT Expands

The Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit system in Johannesburg is expanding its services, and reopening a line that had been temporarily suspended.

From Monday, Protea Glen and Eldorado Park residents will have feeder buses that will take them directly to Thokoza Park station to catch the main bus to the town.

The Braamfontein line, which was suspended last year due to a lack of commuters, will also be reintroduced.

Rea Vaya spread its services
The Star
April 30, 2010

Cape Town Rapid Transit System Close to Complete

Cape Town's Integrated Rapid Transit system is coming into shape, and officials say it will be ready to launch ahead of the World Cup.

Hatton said all the infrastructure projects geared for World Cup transport would be ready by the time the crowds arrived.

The ticket kiosk at the Granger Bay station was installed yesterday, and other stations would be completed over the next month.

Bus delivery was on schedule, and batches of buses would begin arriving weekly from next month.

Cape IRT passes critical test
Cape Argus
April 22, 2010

BRT Set to Open in Pretoria

A new bus rapid transit system is getting set to begin the first phase of its operation in Pretoria on April 1. It will expand to other routes later in the year.

The BRT roll-out will be done in phases, with line 1 linking areas in the north, such as Soshanguve and Mabopane, to the CBD, while line 2 will reach out to areas in the south and east, like the fast developing suburbs along Hans Strijdom Drive and Mamelodi.

The completion of lines 1 and 2 would mean a BRT service that covers a route of about 70km and features four bus terminals, 53 bus stations and 159 buses.

Public transport overhaul
Pretoria News
March 29, 2010

Former Taxi Drivers Home Set on Fire in BRT Retaliation

the home of a Rea Vaya bus rapid transit driver in Johannesburg was petrol-bombed recently in what is being called an attack from the taxi industry. Taxi drivers in town are upset about the new BRT system taking their passengers. The owner of the home is a former taxi driver who recently took a job as a bus driver.

Four policemen guarded the house, which was cordoned off.

"This is about BRT," Mazibuko said when a police officer investigating the attack asked if he had had an argument with anyone recently. "But where do you get in? What does this have to do with you?" the officer asked, to which Mazibuko replied: "I don't know. Maybe it's just jealousy."

The attack took place on the last day of a two-day taxi strike against the implementation of BRT on feeder routes.

Rea Vaya bus driver's house petrol-bombed
Independent Online
March 18, 2010

Expanded Johannesburg BRT Hits Some Roadblocks, But Moves Forward

The first day of expanded BRT service in Johannesburg went ahead relkatively smoothly, despite some related violence and vandalism at bus stops.

Mayoral committee for transport member Rehana Moosajee, said the Rea Vaya system showed it could handle an increased volume of passengers.

"We experienced some initial first-day challenges but, in the broader context, the success of the service demonstrated the need that existed for a rapid bus service to move passengers safely and effectively across our city," Moosajee said in a statement.

...

The service introduced on Monday included a main route between Dobsonville and the Johannesburg city centre and Ellis Park Station, as well as feeder services from Naledi to Thokoza Park Station, from Jabaavu to Lake View Station and from Mofolo to Boomtown Station.

The next phase will be introduced on May 3.

Rea Vaya bus violence condemned
Independent Online
March 15, 2010

Taxis Want to Know Role During World Cup

Taxi officials in Johannesburg are still uncertain about what, if any, role they'll play during the World Cup. The city's new bus rapid transit system is rolling, and local efforts to improve service have left the taxi industry in the shadows.

Irate South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) members told MPs on Tuesday that 93 days before the kickoff, they had yet to hear a word from Ndebele about the part their taxis would play in transporting visitors during the event.

Santaco was at a meeting of the National Assembly's transport committee to hear Department of Transport officials report on progress with the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system and other World Cup transport plans.

Taxi bosses give minister ultimatum
The Star
March 10, 2010

Anti-BRT Faction Expected to Protest

Factions opposed to the expansion of bus rapid transit are expected to join protests over services, according to the Gauteng Department of Community Safety.

Sedibeng, which incorporates Sharpeville, was rocked by service delivery protests this week, with a councillor's house burned down, cars stoned and at least 13 people arrested.

Matshikiza said the police would react severely if infrastructure, including the BRT, was threatened.

Gauteng warns of BRT protests
Independent Online
February 24, 2010

Struggles Continue for Johannesburg BRT

The New York Times takes a look at the struggles facing Johannesburg's bus rapid transit system -- both in terms of operation and local opposition.

The new Bus Rapid Transit systems planned for South Africa’s major cities in recent years have promised to ease those hardships by providing fast, affordable, dignified travel on bus lanes cleared of other vehicles.

Prodded by a national commitment to improve public transportation for soccer’s 2010 World Cup, Johannesburg is carrying out the nation’s most ambitious program. The city predicted that buses would be rolling from Soweto, where a quarter of the city’s four million residents live, to Sandton, the region’s commercial and financial hub, by June.

A Bus System Reopens Rifts in South Africa
The New York Times
February 21, 2010

Amid Funding Trouble, Officials Say BRT Will Survive

Funding troubles are threatening the stability of South Africa's foray into bus rapid transit systems in its major cities. Officials say they will do whatever they can to avoid its collapse.

"The ongoing insufficient funding is a major concern. BRTs are mass transit network projects needing sustainable funding for 10 to 20 years - we will not allow it to collapse," acting Transport Department director general George Mahlalela said.

He was addressing a packed SA Bus Operators Association (Saboa) conference in Pretoria, on the progress made in the introduction of integrated public transport networks in the country.

"It (BRT) is a better experience in many ways and interventions need to be put in place to deal with the funding matter."

BRT will not collapse - transport department
Independent Online
February 18, 2010

Johannesburg Extends BRT

The city of Johannesburg will extend its Bus Rapid Transit service to new routes beginning in March.

"From 1 March 2010 there will be a complimentary service running directly from Dobsonville to the Johannesburg CBD and Ellis Park station and feeder services transporting passengers from Naledi to Thokoza Park Station, from Jabavu to Lake View station and from Mofolo to Boomtown station," said [Rehana Moosajee, member of the mayoral committee for transport].

These routes will be additional to the daily trunk route service running from Thokoza Park in Soweto to Ellis Park, that had been operational from August 31, 2009.

Joburg extends rapid bus services
Independent Online
February 11, 2010

Cape Town's Rapid Transit Costs Triple

The costs of implementing the City of Cape Town's Integrated Rapid Transit system have jumped from 1.3 billion Rand ($167 million USD) to 4.6 billion Rand ($593 million USD).

The project has more than tripled in cost, and R16-million of the amount needed for this financial year will be borrowed from the city's rates revenue and repaid in February when the national government allocates its grant funding for transport projects.

The latest adjustment comes after "further refinements" of the IRT's cost estimates.

The city has R584m in hand for a project that will cost an estimated R892m in the 2009/10 financial year, leaving it with a R308m shortfall that will be funded by external bridging finance of R272m.

IRT costs soar to R4,6bn
Cape Times
February 2, 2010

Johannesburg Halts inner-City BRT Lines

The City of Johannesburg has stalled the inner-city routes of its new bus rapid transit system.

Lack of signs, poor salesmanship, insufficient enforcement of traffic rules and lack of interest from commuters were cited for the closure.

The two routes, which started on September 21, will run on Wednesday for the last time, but are expected to return early next year.

"The Soweto/Ellis Park trunk services will continue to operate normally and are not affected by the withdrawal of the Inner City circle distribution routes," said council spokesman Nthatisi Modingoane.

Rea Vaya routes suspended
The Star
November 17, 2009

Cape Residents Rather Hitch Than Taxi

Eastern Cape Transit official MEC Ghishima Barry says locals are more likely to hitchhike than take a taxi, mainly due to concerns over driving safety and the violence in which the industry has participated against the country's push for more public transit.

Speaking at a "hitch-hiking indaba" in East London, he said the industry in the province had been losing its clientele base.

Many commuters no longer felt safe travelling in taxis.

The industry needed to review the training taxi drivers received in disciplines like customer care and proper driving skills.

ECape travellers 'prefer hitching to taxis'
Independent Online
October 29, 2009

Tshwane Taxi Officials Look for Role in BRT Planning

Taxi officials in Tshwane are calling on local officials to include them in planning talks on the creation of a bus rapid transit system -- an effort to create a collaborative and cooperative development relationship between taxi drivers and transit officials. Other parts of the country have seen antagonism and even violence between the two stakeholder groups as BRT plans developed.

Moeletsi Thulo, chairperson of the Soshanguve Taxi Association and the SA Local and Long Distance Taxi and Bus Organisation, told Pretoria News at the launch of a BRT station in Soshanguve on Wednesday that they wanted to see the system running smoothly and catering for all people.

The concept designs of the multi-million rand project were launched by executive mayor Gwen Ramokgopa, who said the municipality was committed to involving all stakeholders in the implementation of the BRT project.

Taxi boss hits positive note on BRT plan
Pretoria News
October 29, 2009

Transit Expanding, Playing Big Role in 2010 Plans

Buses and trains are seen as playing an important role in the country's operations during the 2010 World Cup, according to Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele. With new bus rapid transit systems opening, expansion of bus lines and the creation of the Gautrain regional rail system in Gauteng Province, public transportation is being dramatically expanded ahead of the World Cup

Government has bought at least 570 of the luxury buses and they will be managed by the Passenger Rail Management Association (PRMA) and Autopax, a company that is responsible for the Translux fleet.

Ndebele said the joint venture will not only allow fans to travel "in style" but will in the long run boost the country's transport system as the buses will be sold back to the private sector after the world cup.

Busses, Trains to Play Major Role in 2010
BuaNews
September 30, 2009

Taxi Industry Vows to Destroy Cape Town BRT

Taxi officials have announced plans to destroy infrastructure related to a new bus rapid transit system set to open soon in Cape Town.

Western Cape taxi bosses have given Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele one month to halt the roll-out of the integrated rapid transit (IRT) system in Cape Town - or face having key infrastructural projects destroyed.

Taxi drivers would take to the streets "en masse", warned provincial National Taxi Alliance (NTA) spokesman Mvuyisi Mente, and destroy "every action of the government" ahead of the World Cup.

Taxis threaten to destroy BRT
Cape Argus
September 23, 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

BRT Opens in Johannesburg

Johannesburg's bus rapid transit system has begun operations, becoming the first BRT system to open in South Africa. With dedicated bus lanes, the system is expected to improve public transit in the populous city, which had heretofore relied on the operation of minibuses and taxis. The taxi industry is still upset about the system, fearing it will steal jobs from taxi drivers. A planned strike had been called off, but taxi officials have not ruled out retaliatory action.

The bus service runs from Soweto, the biggest township in South Africa, to Johannesburg city centre and some of the stadiums that will feature in the 2010 World Cup.

World soccer governing body FIFA has flagged public transport, severely neglected during decades of apartheid rule, as a key challenge South Africa needs to overcome as it prepares to host next year's World Cup tournament.

S.Africa launches transport system ahead of 2010
Reuters
August 30, 2009