Night bus service connects 031

PUBLIC transport just got a whole lot more exciting with the introduction of a looping night bus service for patrons to First Thursdays events in Glenwood, Station Drive and Florida Road.

The pilot programme will be tested for the first time on Thursday, 7 June and will form the basis of a case study to research demand for public transport to support arts and culture events at local lifestyle venues and late night trading on the first Thursday of the month.

Connect031, powered by GO!Durban, will be in operation on 7 June starting from 6pm at the KZNSA Gallery in Glenwood and at Station Drive in Morningside, stopping at Kauai (near the old Spiga) and at the Gin Gallery in Florida Road. The bus leaves every half hour from KZNSA and Station Drive, with the last bus departing at 10.30pm.

“We are delighted to be able to test the viability of a night looping service which will help to identify the need for public transport for established and linked venues and events, ahead of the introduction of GO!Durban. We know that Station Drive has a challenge with parking and this service may help alleviate that by decentralising the parking – and making the other venues available to patrons. We are also hoping that this provides us with a best practice case-study for future night and looping services for other major City events. But most importantly, we need to understand how transport can be a driver or catalyst for these kinds of SMME economic activities,” said Head of the eThekwini Transport Authority, Thami Manyathi.

First Thursdays at the KZNSA Gallery begins at 4pm with the Urban Futures Centre and KZNSA LAB talk entitled Staring at Walls, Art in Public Space. Well-known street artist Ewok, will be talking about the role of street art in creating a vibrant city, and taking visitors on a curated tour of some of Glenwood’s most notable street artwork.

The Main and Mezzanine Galleries feature a solo exhibition by Andries Gouws entitled “Vertoef/Linger” and the Park Gallery features local art available to purchase. Music this month features Reverie, a jazz duo providing a laid-back vibe. There is local shopping at the KZNSA Shop as well as an Arts Cafe special menu to suit all pockets from 5pm to 8pm.

ALSO READ: Artists confront fathers in new exhibition

Then Station Drive, Durban’s busy design district, starts gearing up at 6pm with extended opening hours for the studios, venues and retail shops that will host special events. There is also a range of artisan foods, drinks, arts, craft, music offering something for everyone including children. Amongst the many offerings is a 3D printing demo and exhibition by The Makerspace at their new premises at the Artisan Studios, salsa dancing at The Plant, Momenti artisan gelato and vegan sorbets at the Warehouse, walk-in tattoos at Lightship Tattoo, a group exhibition at the African Art Centre, awesome shopping at The Exchange and the Vans Roots Up DJ collective at the S43 and Distillery031 will be open until late. There’ll be a street food extravaganza with 10 of Durban’s best food trucks, crowd participation murals, the Poison City open mic and a bonfire under the stars, and more.

The Florida Road Precinct provides a welcome stop off at the various eateries, bars and nightspots. The Firehouse, features an “Improv and Pizza” evening offering opportunities for artists of any genre to “do their thing” and at The Big Box HQ and Skyline Coffee Roasters Platform in Gordon Road, there are art happenings with live music.

The cost to hop on Connect031 is R30 for a night pass and R15 for one journey. Commuters can use their usual MUVO smartcard, or pay with cash on the bus. Visit: www.godurban.co.za or like the Facebook page.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts