Half of Joburg's World Cup Fans Used Public Transit

Roughly half of the people attending soccer matches in Johannesburg during the 2010 World Cup used public transit, according to officials. Much of that figure can be attributed to park-and-ride services set up on match days. The city's new Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system moved about 100,000 people, while the city's pre-existing Metrorail service transported about 118,000.

A total of 1 042 160 people attended the 15 matches in Johannesburg and of those, 479 517 used public transport.

More than 260 000 people used the park and ride system while just under 178 000 used the park and walk system.

Public transport was popular
Sport 24
July 15, 2010

BRT Sees Positive Reviews Halfway Through World Cup

FIFA takes a favorable look at the new bus rapid transit system in Johannesburg.

The Rea Vaya transports fans to Soccer City in around 10 minutes from the Westgate station in the Johannesburg CBD, and under 15 minutes from the Thokoza Park station in Soweto. “The BRT saves people time, they can beat traffic as the system reliable and quick,” said Khumalo.

A new era of transport for Johannesburg
FIFA
June 24, 2010

Thanks to urban planning student Linden Weiswerda for the link!

Power Outages Strand Soccer Fans

Power outages in Johannesburg crippled train lines, including some that were to carry World Cup fans back from the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. Roughly 2,000 fans were forced to wait until the early morning to catch their trains back to the city.

Metrorail trains were forced to switch from electric to steam locomotives because of the power cut, delaying the last two trains by between two and three hours with the last fans only arriving at 03:30, said Tumisang Kgaboesele, head of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.

Power cuts strand SWC trains
News 24
June 17, 2010

Brazil Eyes $20 Billion Investment in 2014 World Cup

Brazilian Sports Minister Orlando Silva has said the country will need to invest moe than $20 billion in stadia, transportation and infrastructure as it prepares to host the 2014 World Cup.

Silva said Wednesday that 53 transportation projects were in the planning stage and some had already been contracted.

Brazil: We must spend $20 billion on World Cup
Associated Press
May 20, 2010

Host City Nelspruit Focuses on Shuttles and Park-and-Ride During Cup

World Cup host city Nelspruit has revealed its public transport plans for the tournament. The plans focus on providing public shuttles and access to fan parks and the city's stadium. The plans also emphasize parking cars away from the venues and taking transit options the rest of the way.

"The transport system is an additional service to the regular day-to-day public transport system already in place. It comprises a public transport hub, six park-and-ride points and one park-and-walk point, all with free and secure parking, as well as an airport pickup point.

"Shuttle services to the stadium, Fan Fest and public transport hub will be operational from the park-and-ride and airport pickup points," he said.

Mogale said 600 branded buses and minibus taxis would provide the shuttle services, with a number of primary and alternative routes that had been developed to ensure the system runs smoothly and traffic congestion is kept to a minimum.

Nelspruit's 2010 transport plans in place
Bua News
May 13, 2010

Green Cup With Bikes A-Plenty for Belgium and Netherlands Bid

Belgium and the Netherlands have submitted their joint bid for either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, highlighting their commitment to creating a "green" World Cup. Their plan includes free public transit and 2 million free bikes for fans to use during the event.

"It will be the greenest World Cup ever with an environment protection plan the world has never seen before," said [Ruud] Gullit, who is president of the bid.

"The games will be played in 14 truly green stadiums. The compactness of our countries is a great asset, due to the short distance the next game is never far away and we will offer the fans a network of free public transport and 2 million free bikes.

"In the Low Countries, everyone can go to the stadiums by bike, just like we arrived this morning."

Gullit goes green as FIFA receives World Cup bid books
Reuters
May 14, 2010