Bus across town takes in stadiums

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21 August 2012

THE T1 route takes passengers across town, and stops near plenty of sporting venues, such as Joburg’s world class stadiums, as well as cultural spots.

 

REA Vaya may not yet go to all places in Joburg, but its routes already pass some of the City’s most magnificent heritage sites and public service areas.

Taking a Rea Vaya bus can give a taste of apartheid history or a culture fix – it stops at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, for example.

The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) offers hop-on-hop-off trips that allow passengers to tour the city their own pace and stop whenever they want to. Passengers wanting to tour the inner city and Soweto have two options to choose from should they wish to do a little bit of sightseeing: the inner city circular route, C3; and the Ellis Park to Soweto route, T1.

T1 from Ellis Park to Thokoza Park in Soweto passes several attractions. The trip starts at Coca-Cola Park Stadium, a rugby union and association football venue on the eastern side of Joburg. It was here that the Springboks won the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Football World Cup matches were also played here in 2010.

Johannesburg Stadium is also passed. The eighth IAAF World Cup in Athletics was held here in 1998, and it served as the main stadium for the 1999 All-Africa Games.

As the bus enters Saratoga Avenue in Hillbrow, it passes the University of Johannesburg Doornfontein Campus on the left. The campus is one of four UJ campuses. Previously called Technikon Witwatersrand, on 1 January 2005 it officially merged with Rand Afrikaans University to form University of Johannesburg.

University

Ntokozo Myeni, a UJ student, says that travelling to varsity with Rea Vaya is the best. “I take the bus closer to my house and it drops me closer to school. The taxis drop me at MTN Rank, which is far away from varsity.”

At the Johannesburg Art Gallery Station, you can hop off and visit the gallery. It has the biggest art collection on the sub-continent, including an extensive collection of contemporary art.

It is in Joubert Park, the oldest park in the city, granted by the Volksraad in 1887. The park offers insights into inner city life, has a lovely fountain and large-scale chessboards.

Some the city’s innovative environmental developments are in its grounds. It can handle groups of 500 or more people, and is good for photography, filming commercials and small corporate events. There is also a crèche and family planning clinic inside the park.

The station is also close to the Hillbrow Community Clinic. Itumelng Piliso, a nurse at the clinic, says that Rea Vaya has helped her and her five-year-old a lot as it’s closer to her work and her son’s day care.

Back on the bus, the trip continues passed Carlton Centre, the tallest building in Africa. Hop off to take the lift up to the 50th floor – known as the Top of Africa – where tourists and locals alike can be seen admiring the most astonishing panorama in Gauteng.

FNB Stadium, the largest stadium in Africa with a capacity of 94 736, is also along the T1 route. It was the venue for the opening and final matches of the football World Cup in 2010, which was played by the Netherlands and Spain. It is now used for many sporting and cultural events.

Yet another stadium is seen on this trip: Orlando Stadium is the home ground of Orlando Pirates, the Premier Soccer League team. On the T1 route either from or to Soweto, passengers don’t feel the distance because there is a lot to see.

The T1 route is the easiest and quickest way to get to the stadiums during soccer matches as there are bus stations right next to the stadiums.


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