The face of public transport in South Africa is set to change forever {writer: Fanie Heyns}

South Africa will welcome international football guests for the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup in June and July with a dedicated transport service that is statistically mind-boggling – 418 train sets, 420 buses allocated to MATCH, 200 buses for the Fifa family, 360 buses for general spectators in addition to the 1 100 buses already in operation, as well as 800 midi-buses.

Furthermore, the Gautrain airport link between Sandton and OR Tambo International Airport will be operational three days before kickoff. The Gautrain bus feeder system from the Sandton station, which will be effective in a 10-kilometre radius, will be operational as well.

According to Sam Monareng, a media communications officer for the Department of Transport, the Gautrain will offer a bus service to and from OR Tambo, to and from Sandton, Johannesburg central business district and Pretoria, from Lanseria airport to and from Pretoria and Sandton; and the Gautrain feeder service will take passengers to and from Sandton station, to and from Marlboro station, and to and from Rhodesfield station.

The train uses a smart-ticketing service, preloaded at ticket machines that already have been set up at OR Tambo. Tickets bought there can be used for the train and buses.

Money can be loaded onto a smart card using cash, debit card or credit card.

Passengers can purchase a ticket when disembarking from aircraft, at machines situated at the entrance of the station a few minutes’ walk from the arrivals entrance, said Gautrain spokesperson, Dr Barbara Jensen.

Airport coaches will transport 140 passengers in one trip. The cost is R80 for a one-way ticket to the airport, and R30 to Pretoria from Park Station. This, said Jensen, was to make it affordable for regular commuters to the area.

Read the fine print

Monareng told Service that from 4 June to 14 July, the operations will be as follows: From OR Tambo International Airport to and from Sandton, Johannesburg CBD and Pretoria. The operations will be from 05h00 to 21h00, at frequencies of 30 minutes per direction.

From Lanseria Airport to and from Pretoria and Sandton, the operations will be during morning and afternoon peaks, from 05h00 to 09h00 and from 15h00 to 19h00, at frequencies of one hour per direction.

From Sandton to and from Pretoria, operations will be from 05h00 to 21h00, at frequencies of one hour per direction.

There will be tight security on trains and stations through access control; electronic surveillance, with more than 650 closed-circuit television cameras; and visible policing, through private security forces.

The central call centre will monitor all the railway lines and stations.

Passengers will be able to transfer easily between the Gautrain and other forms of transport such as the new bus rapid transit (BRT) services, planes, taxis, Metrorail trains and cars.

Park-and-ride facilities at the stations will be available at an affordable cost.

It will take about 12 minutes to travel between Sandton station, situated beneath Rivonia Road and West Street, to the airport central terminal building – a distance of 18km.

The trip to Pretoria is 80km long.

Commuters from Pretoria will have to change in Sandton to catch the airport line.

The Gautrain’s braking system is pre-programmed and controlled electronically.

Host city transport operations

Every one of the host cities will have five different operations in order to improve traffic flow to and from the stadiums.

There will be an airport-to-city-centre service to provide a link to the city centres, with onward travel by public transport or metered taxi.

A park-and-ride service will enable spectators to park remotely and take a special bus, taxi or rail service to the stadium on match days.

An extended and special bus service will serve the stadium, core city areas and accommodation nodes, said Monareng.

There will be extended rail service from dusk to late night, while shuttle and charter transport operations will be available privately in each city.

Johannesburg

In Johannesburg, the airport to Sandton Hub and City Centre Hub will be serviced by the Gautrain management agency.

Wits Campus, Constitution Hill, Gold Reef and Bez Valley will be the park-and-ride sites.

The BRT system will service Wits Campus, Constitution Hill and Westgate Hub.

In terms of commuter rail, the normal service will run as scheduled, with 19 additional dedicated trains set for World Cup games on 12 routes.

There will be 14 additional train sets organised for Soccer City, 14 additional train sets for Loftus Versfeld, and additional train shuttles for Johannesburg to Nasrec, from Westgate to Nasrec, and from Westgate to Doornfontein.

Pretoria

From the airport to the Pretoria Main Station Hub, there will be regular services provided by the Gautrain Management Agency.

There will be park-and-ride sites at the University of Pretoria Sport Campus as well as the Pretoria Sport Union.

The metro bus and taxi shuttles will provide transport from park-and-ride sites to the stadium and back, as well as from the Pretoria Main Station to the stadium and the CBD Accommodation Hub.

The park-and-ride services will operate from four hours before kickoff to two hours after each game ends.

Other shuttle services will operate from 06h00 to 24h00 at a charge of between R12 and R25.

Cape Town

In Cape Town, throughout the event, there will be a 24-hour service from Cape Town International Airport to the main transport hub next to the Cape Town Station.

There will be an inter-city service by bus or rail from outside Cape Town to the central hub.

An inner-city service will carry passengers by bus from Heerengracht, Coen Steytler, Long and Loop Street to and from the stadium every day.

The park-and-ride sites in Cape Town will be the University of Cape Town, Camps Bay High School and Kronendal Primary School.

The commuter rail will be the backbone of the Cape transport system, said Monareng, with 14 service lines and 119 stations.

Existing services will extend operations to 02h00 daily during the event.

Stadium match shuttles will operate from six hours before kickoff to four hours after each game ends, departing every three-to-five minutes, depending on demand.

The inner-city service will operate for 24 hours.

Durban

An airport shuttle service will operate from King Shaka Airport via accommodation zones north of Durban, the beachfront accommodation belt and to the Central Transport Hub.

Inner-city services will be accommodated in the Central Transport Hub, and spectators can take the shuttle to the stadium, or walk.

There will be a stadium match shuttle that will take spectators to the stadium from the central hub; there will be rail to the Moses Mabhida Stadium; and an inner-city service called the People Mover buses that will move spectators along designated routes in the city.

In all, there are 13 key rail stations identified for park and rail.

Inner-city services will operate from 06h00 to 23h00, within 15-minute intervals.

Park-and-ride services will operate from 09h00 to 03h00 the next morning.

Port Elizabeth

In the windy city, park-and-ride services will operate from between three hours and six hours before a game, to three hours thereafter.

The park-and-ride sites will be at King’s Beach parking, St. George’s Park and Andrew Rabie High School.

The airport-to-stadium service will be operational from six hours before kickoff, and the airport-to-beachfront service will be a 24-hour operation.

Nelspruit

An airport shuttle will operate from the airport to the public transport hub in the city and to the stadium on match days.

The park-and-ride sites will be Nelspruit Rugby Club, Nelspruit Showgrounds, Riverside Mall, Nelspruit High School Sports Ground and Nelspruit Primary School.

These services will operate from three hours before kickoff to three hours after the game ends, with no charge to ticket holders.

Park-and-ride challenges

One of the greatest challenges facing the 2010 local organising committee (LOC) was the park-and-ride system.

This became evident during the 2009 Confederations Cup tournament when Gauteng-based newspapers were inundated with calls from soccer fans who attended the Confederations Cup match between Egypt and Italy at the Coca-Cola Park stadium.

Frustrated fans said they had encountered problems just after the match had ended. “Everything was okay when we went to the stadium, but after the game – that’s when all the problems started,” said one caller.

“The park-and-ride system on [17 June] was horrendous, to say the least, because there was a lot of pushing around among fans who were looking for transport and buses to shuttle them back to the various transport hubs.”

Some fans said they had been left stranded, as pickup points had been unmarked.

Spokesperson for the LOC Rich Mkhondo told The Citizen that the committee was aware of the fiasco, and promised that it would be working closely with the City of Johannesburg in a bid to iron out the problems.

Jermaine Craig, another representative from the LOC, told Service in 2009 that more buses would be required when soccer fans leave the stadium, and that the LOC would have to engage with other role-players on enhancing the organisation

around improving the demarcation of destinations around Johannesburg.

Monareng, in reaction to the criticism, said that great improvements were made regarding the park-and-rides.

Signage around the stadia has been vastly improved and the general lighting was upgraded to provide a much safer and spectator-friendly environment.

Improvements have been made also in relation to roads in the stadia precincts.

The transport sector is promoting a pro-public transport approach and response, encouraging the use of public transport or park-and-rides, given the absence of parking at the stadia for general spectators.

Practical improvements

The LOC and the Department of Transport are finalising the stadium precinct mapping – to be available on a dedicated website – showing limit of general access for vehicles, drop-off/pickup points, security lines and stadium turnstile banks.

Cities will communicate locally on road restrictions, access restrictions to premises (businesses and residences) and encouraging locals to leave work early on match days to encourage lower traffic volumes.

More detailed information on transport sector operational preparations for the World Cup is available in the Travel Guide booklet, and can be obtained on www.findyourway2010.co.za.

A national command and call centre will serve as a central hub of co-ordination for transport operations, information management and risk assessment during the global sports event across the country, including host cities and provinces.

The centre will provide live, real-time traffic and transport information that will facilitate quick decision-making and responses to incidents, and will also enable travellers to access relevant transport information.

An interactive portal updating traffic and transport information will be operational 24 hours a day and will include a Facebook and Twitter application.

Through the portal, fans can plan their trips and have real-time route and traffic information on host cities, and the public can view real-time traffic routes around host cities.

The National Transport Call Centre will operate from 1 June through to 31 July 2010. It will be operated and manned by specially trained personnel, providing facilities for ministerial support, media rooms, videoconferencing and meeting rooms, said Monareng.

Inter-city bus operations

The Department of Transport has appointed a service provider to administer the operation and management of inter-provincial and regional transportation of spectators for the World Cup event. The integrated service will be provided by both commuter buses and midi-bus taxi vehicles.

According to Monareng, 110 commuter buses will be serviced from Autopax, and the balance from the industry. The fleet usage will be dependent on the demand that is generated for the service, as well as on ticket sales.

Apart from the 110 commuter buses, the delivery of 570 Autopax buses is on track. In all, 377 semi-luxury buses have been delivered.

A total of 508 drivers have been contracted, while 326 drivers are in the final stages of recruitment, said Monareng.