By Dean Workman
A major part of the desired Aerotropolis that the City of Ekurhuleni is trying to create, is to have an efficient and reliable public transport system.
City of Ekurhuleni hosted journalists on June 21 during a tour of the city to showcase the developments that are currently taking place.
One of these developments is the construction of the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRT), better known as Harambee.
“The construction of Harambee started last year and is currently in phase one of construction,” said Mr Ivan du Plessis, Ekurhuleni’s senior protocol officer.
The project is looking to create a reliable system that will allow residents to travel through the City of Ekurhuleni, connecting the nine towns which make up the area with an estimated 40 to 60 buses expected to be running at the completion of the project.
Harambee is looking for a similar impact to that of the Rea Vaya system in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) as the construction will include upgrades on all the roads, pavements and intersections along the desired bus routes as well as the construction of designated bus lanes.
The aim of the project is to integrate all existing modes of transport as it is one of the key aspects of the transforming the City of Ekurhuleni into an Aerotropolis.
The buses will be easily accessible and affordable to residents and will have Wi-Fi installed on board to add to the travel experience.
The buses will play a major role in transporting employees to their various places of work as industrial developments continue to be developed in the City of Ekurhuleni.
Ekurhuleni is hopeful of having phase one completed and operational by January 2017 and hopes to have the entire project completed and fully operationally by the end of 2017 or beginning of 2018.
