The City of Ekurhuleni’s MMC for Transport and Fleet Management, Clr Pelisa Nkunjana, has introduced the first Harambee Card at Rabasotho, Tembisa, on August 1.
At an event hosted to celebrate the introduction of the trial of operations phase for the Harambee Card, Nkunjana said the card will allow the passengers to enjoy a safe and convenient travel.
Through Harambee, the City of Ekurhuleni continues to drive its mission that aims to provide sustainable and people-centred developmental services.
“The public will be able to purchase and utilise the cards during this trial period as we test the functionality of every aspect of the process. The system is fully operational, and this trial is to test the live system in real time. We are confident the system will operate smoothly, but, if we find a few creases, we will ensure they are ironed out, without interruption. The trial will last approximately a month after which the cards will be available to every commuter and citizen of Ekurhuleni,” Nkunjana said.
The Harambee Card allows commuters to travel on the system by loading cash on the card for a cashless, safe, and convenient travel. The cards are available at a once-off card fee of R35 at the Harambee Ticket Kiosks at Rabasotho Hall, Birch Acres Mall and Kempton Park Civic Centre.
The Harambee Starter Service began operations in October 2016 from Station 7 at Rabasotho Hall to Isando.
In October 2017 the service was extended to the OR Tambo International Airport.
To date Harambee has a total of 18 buses, transporting a total of 5 000 passengers daily along a 56km route.
In October this year, the Harambee system will ramp up an additional bus fleet to cater for the high demand and for an extended service route.
The introduction of the Harambee Card means that commuters can “Top up, “Tap in” and Tap out” in the quickest, efficient and safest way.
Currently the system is using a paper QR ticket that is only valid for one trip and it expires after five days.
This means that the commuters need to make regular trips to the Harambee mobile kiosks to purchase new tickets. A wonderful feature of the Harambee Card is that the loaded trip fares will not expire in a few days as the paper QR tickets currently does.
The card will give the Harambee passengers an opportunity to manage their weekly and monthly travel budgets, and to help eliminate the stress of having to stand in the queues every time they need to use the buses.
“The City of Ekurhuleni is increasingly excited about the progress being made on the Harambee ticketing system and look forward to an extended service in October 2019 as we mark Transport Month. Service delivery is key for all citizens of the City, and we will continue to strive to live up to a partnership that works,” said Nkunjana.
