2009-11-16: City of Joburg’s Rea Vaya BRT receives international recognition
The City of Johannesburg’s Member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport, Cllr Rehana Moosajee was recently invited to deliver a paper on the Joburg’s Rea Vaya BRT syestem at the 4th International Mass Transit Conference and Trade Fair in Bogota.
This was in recognition of the City of Joburg’s Rea Vaya BRT as the first full African Bus Rapid Transit system. Johannesburg has joined the ranks of cities such as Bogota, Ahmedabad, Pereira, Delhi and Mexico City who have successfully rolled out bus rapid transit systems.
The Institute for Transport Development also extended an invitation to Mr Sicelo Mabaso Chairman of Top Six Taxi Association, Mr Eric Motshwane Chairman of the Greater Johannesburg Regional Taxi Association and Mr Nkosinathi Manzana, Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) Senior Development Manager BRT.
The aim of the gathering was to discuss best practices and to share knowledge amongst cities of the world that operate mass transit systems. Some forty-eight BRT systems are already operational across the world, fourteen are in construction stage and over a hundred are in various stages of planning.
Key themes of the fair included mass transit and climate change, sustainable financing of mass transit options, transport policies and implications for health indicators, transport as a catalyst in urban planning. linking non motorised transport to mass transit planning and political will as a key ingredient in BRT systems.
Of particular interest to the taxi industry representatives were the site visits during which details of operations were shared.
During the proceedings, the first ever meeting of BRT cities took place. The aim of the meeting was to foster closer working relationships amongst cities that are either planning or operating BRT systems. One of the key resolutions taken in this meeting was the formation of a six member BRT Promoting Group whose aim is to develop guidelines, terms of reference and mechanisms for the sharing of knowledge across the BRT systems of the world and to facilitate the formation of regional BRT associations, ultimately culminating in a Worldwide Association of BRT Cities.
Rea Vaya is a member of this group along with Transmilenio (Colombia) Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (India), Macrobus (Mexico City), DART (Tanzania), BH Trans (Brazil).
“We were truly humbled by the invitation and delegates confirmed that Joburg is up there with the best”, said MMC Moosajee. A lot of interest was shown in some key features including aesthetically attractive and well functioning stations and comfortable buses carrying a maximum of 112 passengers for a similar size bus.
Also of interest was the UITP Youth Project. A group of youth studying in the field of transportation at various Latin American Universities enthralled the conference audience with their firm grasp of the importance of mobility as a key element influencing the quality of life at present and in the future.
“Seeing the Joburg Rea Vaya logo amongst logos of other mass transit systems from cities such as Madrid, Bogota and Cali, made all South African delegates proud”, concluded MMC Moosajee
Issued by: City of Johannesburg
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E-mail: dudulu@joburg.org.za
