October is the nation’s annual Transport Month which was expected to be ushered in by the National Department of Transport’s National Road and Safety Summit.
The summit was cancelled after the minister’s consideration of the insufficient progress made on resolutions set out at the inaugural Summit in 2013 by different stakeholders and key drivers , reported a letter sent out to stakeholders.
However, National Government has partnered with The City of Johannesburg to launch the first completed dedicated cycling and walking pathways in Orlando on October 23.
The launch is part of the City’s number of events planned to take place across the City, aligned to its Towards Eco-mobility theme for the month.
The theme encourages walking, cycling and using public transport to navigate the City.
While tuning citizens to be more environmentally friendly and healthy.
Some of the events set for the month include:
· a Women in Transport and Construction Seminar on October 21 which will focus on motivating women in emerging companies by identifying opportunities in the transport family
· A safety awareness campaign, in partnership with the taxi industry and taxi drivers that will take place at Baragwanath Taxi Rank later in the month as part of the City’s commitment to improve public transport safety.
· A public transport adventure, “Kasi to Kasi” where teams will compete against each other by visiting places of interest using public transport which will also teach participants about budgeting
Lorraine Mapel, Promotional Manager of the City’s transport department said communities should participate in these events as it’ll give them the opportunity to interact and learn about the various modes of transport through exhibitions.
The highlight of Transport Month will be the Eco-mobility Weekend from October 24 to 26, where certain streets will be closed and commuters will be encouraged to use public transport to get to Maboneng, “We hope this will be the event that changes peoples’ mindsets and encourages them to use public transport often”, said Mapel.
Members of the community wishing to participate on any of these free events can contact Jacqueline Baloyi on 011 870 4516.
