The City of Joburg’s MMC for Transport, Kenny Kunene, Section 79 Transport Committee members, and other stakeholders unveiled 68 Rea Vaya prototype buses at the TMS Plant on Side Road, West Turffontein, on January 29.
The city has bought 68 rigid Gautrain buses from Bombela for R18m for the Rea Vaya Phase 1c (a) route. However, they do not have the correct door for loading and dropping off passengers and thus do not meet the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) specifications.
@southern.courier The City of Joburg’s MMC for Transport, Kenny Kunene, Section 79 Transport Committee members, and other stakeholders unveiled 68 Rea Vaya prototype buses at the TMS Plant on Side Road, West Turffontein, on January 29.
For compliance, before they can be used to provide Rea Vaya services, reconfiguration and rebranding were done according to the city’s corporate identity.
The prototype buses give authorisation for the reconfiguration of the remaining 66 buses that must be completed by May/June.
It is estimated that 16 buses will be reconfigured monthly from this month for the interim services of Rea Vaya Phase 1C (a) to start in June/July.
@comaro.chronicle The city has bought 68 rigid Gautrain buses from Bombela for R18m for the Rea Vaya Phase 1c (a) route. However, they do not have the correct door for loading and dropping off passengers and thus do not meet the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) specifications.
The buses will be used to operate the interim services of Rea Vaya Phase 1C (a) until 141 new buses are procured by the Alexandra Bus Company, a bus operating company established by affected minibus taxi operators in Alexandra.
The BRT specifications include:
• Adoor built on the right-hand side of each bus so buses can offload passengers at the Rea Vaya Phase 1C (a) low-flow stations;
• The wheelchair bay moving from the right- to the left-hand side of the bus;
• Fitting a cassette-type automated ramp to let passengers embark from the bus to the station;
• Rebranding the buses according to the city’s corporate identity.
Phase 1C (a) will bring safe, affordable, and reliable transport to the residents of Berea, Yeoville, Orange Groove, Cheldondale, Norwood, Balfour Park, Bramley, Wynberg, Alexandra, Marlboro, Athol, Sandton, Sandown, Longmeadow and Greenstone.
Kunene said all BRT stations that are not in working condition will be maintained, and those that are vandalised will be repaired to accommodate the 68 buses to be introduced.
He also said this route would be busy because most delegates for the G20 in November will use it, so they need to expedite the process.
