The City of Johannesburg’s transport department will use this year’s transport month to raise awareness about the high number of road fatalities due to speeding and drunken driving.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport, Nonhlanhla Makhuba, said: “Safety is something important and dear to my heart as we continue to see too many pedestrians injured on our roads, bus and mini bus taxi accidents and fatalities due to speeding or drunken driving.”
The City has planned a series of activities to be held throughout the month of October 2018 as part of celebrating National Transport Month.
Under the theme “CoJ Partnering for Safety”, the activities aim to provide all residents with information to empower them about public transport and road safety while highlighting the importance of public transport.
Image by sabcnews.co.za
The City will also highlight partnerships with different stakeholders on safety issues relating to all road users. There will be interactions with commuters, public transport operators and drivers. This year will also see a partnership with JMPD at various public transport facilities across the City to highlight safety issues focusing on pedestrian and commuter safety.
“The Transport Month is an important campaign to create an awareness of the vital role that transport plays in our society to improve communities and the economy,” said Makhuba.
The MMC has encouraged all residents to use Transport Month to increase their awareness of road safety whether as a pedestrian, public transport user or private vehicle driver.
"We urge all residents of Johannesburg to take heed of the campaign messages and rally behind the transformation of society through the delivery of safe and reliable public transport", emphasized Cllr Makhuba.
The City of Johannesburg Transport Month activities will take place as follows:
• An event hosted in partnership with Bikers Lives Matter to focus on safety of bikers (06 October 2018, 8am)
• Annual Senior Citizen Public Transport Tour - giving senior citizens from Region A an opportunity use and experience Rea Vaya, Gautrain and Metrobus (09 October 2018, 8am)
• An event hosted by JRA focusing on promoting road safety through road markings in Region B (17 October 2018, 8am)
• Annual “iKasi to iKasi” event again focusing this year not only on the experience of public transport and tourism site, but in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Environment and Rural Development focusing also on the carbon footprint of different modes of transport and the impact that this has on our air quality and environment (19 October 2018, 7am, Start at Museum Africa)
• To launch a driver emergency response training. A three week long training programme targeted at Metrobus drivers. The drivers are trained on emergency response in order to meet the challenges of emergencies during their work operations (during the month of October)
• An event focusing on the safety of women who travel on mini bus taxis – by reaching out to taxi drivers and educating them on the rights of women – in fact the rights of all our people (23 October 2018, 10am, Bree Taxi Rank, Metro Mall).
• Focusing on school children in places like Eldorado Park who think it is cool or fun to travel holding onto the back of our buses – rather than in our buses (24 October 2018, 7am).
• An event hosted by Metrobus and JRA profiling women and youth owned SMME’S and sharing good practice at Metrobus (26 October 2018, 9am, Joburg Zoo)
• JRA to undertake a Service Delivery Blitz activity in Region D to attend to all road and bridge maintenance issues (27 October 2018, 9am)
• Hosting a further cycle Freedom Ride between Mandela Bridge and Mandela’s House in Soweto where we are expecting thousands of cyclists to converge on Braamfontein. This ride is an opportunity to profile the role of cycling as a mode of transport (Sunday 28 October 2018, 7am)
• The launch of our new control room in Selby – from where we will be monitoring and controlling all the Rea Vaya buses (30 October 2018, 9am)
There’s a number of other community-based transport safety awareness campaigns run by JMPD, JRA and Metrobus.
