Buccleuch and Kelvin receive Gautrain shuttle service
SANDTON – Buccleuch and Kelvin residents will benefit from the Gautrain with the introduction of a bus service.
Around eight years after the Gautrain was opened to the public, residents in Buccleuch and Kelvin will now benefit from a shuttle service.
The first Gautrain trip between Sandton and OR Tambo Airport took place in 2010 and has since been utilised by thousands of commuters who wish to beat the traffic rush.
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However, certain suburbs have been left deprived of the convenience of the high-speed transport system.
Although Buccleuch and Kelvin are a stone’s throw from the Marlboro Gautrain Station but getting to the station and back was not easy.
This is what prompted Buccleuch resident Christine Nxumalo to start a petition to receive the benefit of a shuttle service to pick up commuters in the suburbs and take them to the station.
Nxumalo said there is no other public transport in Buccleuch besides minibus taxis and she is also quite concerned about the safety of using this form of transport.
“As residents, we identified there was an issue, and we realised Kelvin is in a similar situation.”
To get to the station you either have to ask a friend or use an app-based taxi which can become expensive.
“I decided to start a petition online and sent it to a lot of people. We didn’t realise how badly we needed it and also for the safety of the kids it can become an issue.”
Nxumalo said the petition gained momentum and within a week they received more than 3 000 signatures which highlighted the need for a shuttle service.
“I ended up having to call an app-based taxi for my children every day to get them to school and back,” said Nxumalo.
She said the process took around two years from the start of the petition to when they were informed that shuttles will start operating in July.
The excitement started building in the suburbs when the street signs indicating the stops, started going up.
Nxumalo was told that Buccleuch will receive two shuttles to service the area and Kelvin will receive one. “I think the stops are evenly spread and I am happy because it is just down the road from my house,” ended Nxumalo.
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