[sustran] BRT comes to Joburg (And then what?)

Paul Barter paulbarter at nus.edu.sg
Wed Sep 16 18:43:21 JST 2009


>From the World Streets blog, an Item by Gail Jennings

 

 


Wednesday, September 16, 2009


"Take a ride where the drivers aren't rude to you... " 
BRT comes to Joburg (And then what?)
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2009/09/take-ride-where-drivers-a
rent-rude-to.html>  


'Have you heard of this BRT in Joburg? Are we going to get this thing in
Cape Town?' Xoliswa Mtshali is dusting my office bookshelves, moving
copies of MOBILITY magazine around and looking at the photographs of
TransMillenio in the latest issue. She's spent the last week or so -
like most other people in South Africa - watching news footage of the
country's first-ever BRT, Rea Vaya, which launched on 1 September. And
friends of hers who live in Soweto have told her that the bus service is
like nothing they've ever encountered before.

'It's cheap - not expensive like taxis. The music is not loud, they say.
You can know when the bus will arrive... The bus doesn't have to wait to
be full before it goes...'

But the best, according to Xoliswa: 'The drivers, they are not rude to
you!'

As we're talking, another 'BRT update from Rea Vaya' lands in my in-box.
Today, talk is around emissions standards, and how the bus service will
continue despite security threats. And the ruling-party ANC has
criticized Soweto Taxi Services for allegedly intimidating taxi owners
who support the Bus Rapid Transit system. Last week two passengers were
injured by taxi gunmen, and a high-profile taxi leader was murdered.
...

See
http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2009/09/take-ride-where-drivers-ar
ent-rude-to.html for the whole article.

 



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