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.
The City of Tshwane has already approved a total of seven base camp facilities. One such facility is the High Performance Centre in Hatfield, attached to the University of Pretoria, which Argentina inspected on Monday as their potential base camp.
Another one is the Southdown's College used by Italy during the FIFA Confederations Cup last year. HM Pitje Stadium in Mamelodi, Caledonian Stadium, Pilditch Stadium, Laudium Stadium and Eersterus Sport Stadium are the other five sports facilities that can be used by teams wishing to stay in Tshwane.
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.
Last week the department called on provincial and municipal authorities to be on the lookout for the 1 070 or so vehicles it had identified as being converted.
In the market, panel vans are about R45 000 cheaper than taxis.
Dealers buy these vehicles, convert them into taxis and then sell them to operators at the same price as a standard specification taxi to cream off large profits.
While these vehicles are not sub-standard, and could be used by non-public operators or for private use, they are not of the standard required for public transport.