The C2 complementary route between Dobsonville and Maponya Mall is up and running, and people are confident it will grow in popularity.

IT now costs just R3,50 to travel from Dobsonville to Maponya Mall, in style and comfort, thanks to the new Rea Vaya C2 complementary route. And the buses are the most convenient way of travelling.

The route is picking up in terms of numbers, said Jeff Ngcobo, Rea Vaya's operations manager. This growth in numbers is expected to continue as more people travel to Maponya Mall during the Christmas holidays.

But not many residents are aware of the service yet, and the small cost of it. For those that know about it, Rea Vaya has become their regular transport. Bus began plying the new route on Wednesday, 1 December.

"People are used to taxis, which are slow and expensive compared to Rea Vaya," says Nombulelo Ndlovu, a Rea Vaya ticket vendor.

Opposite her stop, plenty of commuters wait for the bus to Joburg. She is adamant that so many use the buses to Joburg because they know about the service.

One of the first few to take up the offer of the new route to Maponya Mall, Nonkululeko Tshabalala is confident that people will use the service once they have learned about it. "It is only R3,50 from here to Maponya. People will save a lot of money," he points out.

The bus is quick and was not as congested as the minibus taxis, he adds. Although the bus stops to pick up people at the many stations along the way, it gets you to where you want to be in time because of the special lane it uses.

But he does think that a purpose-built station at the Dobsonville stop will make it more visible to other commuters. The stop is on the corner of Elias Motsoaledi and Shomayeli streets; the route passes Lakeview Station and Thokoza Park Station.

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