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Rea Vaya helps out
- Details
- 30 August 2012
SEVERAL non-governmental organisations received minibus taxis from the City and the Bus Rapid Transit, in an exercise to “give back” to those who take care of others.
MMC Rehana Moosajee: Handing over of taxis a cause for celebration
On 28 August, 31 refurbished minibus taxis were given to several NGOs by the City and Rea Vaya at the transport group’s Dobsonville Depot in Soweto. Rehana Moosajee, the Joburg mayoral committee member for transport, said: “Today the City has reached yet another milestone.”
On 7 February 2011, the first bus operating company was formally handed over to the taxi industry, the shareholders of the Phase 1A company. At the same time, the taxi owners handed over their taxi operating certificates and more than 350 taxis for scrapping.
With that move, former taxi owners from the Greater Johannesburg Taxi Council and Top Six Management became the owners of 66,7 percent of the bus operating company. The balance is owned by the City of Johannesburg.
The new bus company, PioTrans, appointed a board that included the 13 taxi operators who invested in it. At the time, it was pointed out that the operating contract was worth R184-million a year and would run for 12 years.
At yesterday’s event, Moosajee thanked everyone who had contributed to Rea Vaya and had given away their taxis. She never thought that the day would actually happen, she said, as it was a long and difficult journey. “The City can only do such things only with the support [of] the people.”
Handing over taxi keys to NGOs
She said that it had been a long journey to get to the day, but “what is important is that the big day has finally arrived”.
“We attempt to give back to people who take care of people on the roads on daily basis … Who thought that such a transport system as the BRT would be implemented in South Africa?”
Moosajee stressed that Rea Vaya was turning three on 30 August. Five years ago, it was all a dream; the implementation of Rea Vaya and the handover called for a celebration. “We need to sing a birthday song to Rea Vaya and celebrate its third anniversary since we could not celebrate it last year due to the workers putting down tools.”
Johannesburg adopted the BRT as a long-term mass transit solution in 2006, with the first buses up and running along the first trunk route at the end of August 2009.
The largest minibus taxi scrapping exercise took place at the scrapping yard in Nancefield, Soweto, in February 2011, surrounded by numerous unroadworthy taxis. After the batteries were removed, the taxis were placed in a compactor that crushed them into a rectangular shape about a metre-and-a-half in size.
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