Traffic congestion on major roads should not be expected to ease immediately owing to the imminent implementation of the Tshwane Bus Rapid Transit, A Re Yeng.
This is the advice from Rea Vaya BRT Johannesburg, which has operated without major glitches since the first buses took to the routes in August 2009.
Benny Makgoga, spokesman for the Johannesburg BRT, praised the City of Tshwane for its BRT initiative. However, he said that while A Re Yeng would assist commuters in Tshwane, it should only reduce road traffic congestion over time when more routes become operational.
More routes meant easier accessibility by the majority of residents.
“This will take some time but ultimately it needs to reach that objective within a reasonable time expected when routes are open and become more accessible to the majority of the people who are currently using private cars,” Makgoga said.
“The movement of BRT on its dedicated lanes saves more time relative to private cars in mixed traffic. As a result private car users will have to make informed travel decisions based on travel times from their homes to their place of work.”
Makgoga said the BRT was fast, safe and affordable public transport and was accessible, convenient and reliable in the areas where it operated.
He added that commuters in Pretoria were guaranteed a bus service that they would be able to use efficiently for their daily travels, without a glitch or much to worry about.
DA spokesman for transport in Johannesburg Nico de Jager also advised that while A Re Yeng would not reduce the use of private cars, it would benefit poorer communities in Tshwane that previously didn’t have access to a modern public transport service.
De Jager emphasised the importance of public consultation as the roll-out of A Re Yeng gained momentum. It was also important for the Tswane municipality to get support from commuters, the taxi industry and other stakeholders in the community, he said.
"Sufficient budget must be allocated to this vital task."
“With the construction, there must be a pedestrian crossing at each stations. There isn’t much of this in Johannesburg, which can sometimes be problematic as it places the lives of commuters at risk when they have to cross roads to reach the stations,” he said.
“As the BRT expands, the municipality may find itself having to buy land or risk not having many stations.”
City of Tshwane spokesman Blessing Manale said the capital had learnt from Johannesburg and was confident that A Re Yeng would in time reduce the usage of private vehicles on the city’s roads.
“The main incentives of the service are features such as integrated ticketing, proximity to other transport systems such as taxis, existing municipal bus services and the Gautrain bus network.
NOT A LUXURY
“The routes have been phased in within high-volume and low to middle-income areas, making the service not a luxury, but a need. These areas are Pretoria North, Capital Park, the inner city, Sunnyside and Hatfield.”
However, Manale said the municipality believed that, as was the case with Johammesburg, it would have to engage in a campaign that guaranteed affordability, safety, convenience, reliability and quality of service, to achieve higher occupancy levels.
“We are confident that with a mixture of these service offerings and the increasing cost of travel, most of our residents are looking forward to A Re Yeng.
“We saw an increase in Tshwane Bus Service occupancy levels once the fleet was modernised and service quality improved. We foresee such a trend continuing with the BRT service,” Manale added. - Pretoria News