Joburg helps its neighbour

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27 July 2012

THE Dobsonville Rea Vaya bus depot was the subject of a presentation and a site tour when a delegation visited Joburg to share ideas on Bus Rapid Transit systems.

 

TSHWANE, Joburg’s northern neighbour, is setting up a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), and Johannesburg is sharing information and ideas with the capital.

On 19 July, the City of Johannesburg Transport Department, and their appointed implementation Agency, the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), hosted a delegation from Tshwane.

Representatives from the two cities discussed building BRT bus depots. Charles Blok, Rea Vaya’s infrastructure director provided a background and overview of the Rea Vaya depot development, after which Vuyiswa Voyi, the JDA’s senior development manager, spoke about the Rea Vaya Dobsonville depot, which is currently being built.

She pointed out what needed to be considered when planning for a depot. “Firstly, one has to target city-owned land, since privately owned land is expensive, and the land must be away from domestic or residential areas to avoid noise,” said Voyi.

The Dobsonville depot, however, is located partially in the residential area of Meadowlands, Soweto since no other space could be found. “We decided to fence the depot with noise friendly walls so that the community will not be disturbed by the noise,” she said.

An overview of various BRT bus depots from around the world was provided by Daniel Joubert from Arup, who are the appointed Architects on the project. Voyi added that the Dobsonville depot would be world class.

Blok said it was important to have day time layover facilities at strategic locations along the trunk corridors where buses could be parked during off-peak hours, as well as permanent bus depot facilities.

These layover facilities are essential to prevent drivers from having to drive all the way back to the depots during off peak times when buses are withdrawn from service. They help in saving diesel and unnecessary travelling.

Rea Vaya will ultimately have two depots in the South of Johannesburg for its Phase 1 operations; these will be in Dobsonville and Avalon. There is another depot under development in Joburg central and the team is planning to open another in the Alexandra, Wynberg area.

Vuyiswa said the utilities were also considering satellite depots. The presentation was followed by questions from the floor, and then a tour to Dobsonville depot, where the visitors were able to see the work in progress. Siyabonga Genu, the JDA’s development manager, showed the Tshwane delegation around the facility.

The 8ha depot will cost around R150-million on completion and will accommodate 270 buses, which makes it the biggest bus depot in Johannesburg. The maintenance and administration buildings are already up but they need finishing touches.

The administration building will have offices, a boardroom, lecture room, administration room, gym and showers. The maintenance building will have bus maintenance pits, a body and paint shop, ablution facilities, an area for washing bus parts, tyre storage, and toilets.

“The buildings are environmentally friendly buildings. The roofing contains skylights which allow natural light to come in, and that will save electricity. The buildings have solar systems, the walls outside are covered by a material which is made from recycled plastic bottles. Water that will be used to wash buses will be recycled as well,” explained Genu.

In the depot yard, a training facility has been provided, which simulates a Rea Vaya station, for drivers to practice correct docking procedures. A wash and dry area where six buses can be washed at one time is also provided at the depot.

A temporary wash area is still being used while construction of the facility continues. Currently temporary, above ground diesel tanks are being used during construction, which comply with environmental requirements, whilst a permanent fuel station with underground diesel tanks is being installed.

There are two entrances – an access controlled entrance where drivers and other employees will swipe their cards at the gates, and a visitors’ entrance where visitors will have to report to security.

It is anticipated that construction of the Rea Vaya Dobsonville depot will be completed by October this year.

Clifford Malimabe, a work stream leader of infrastructure in Tshwane, said the team was very excited and had learned a lot from the presentation and the tour. “Rea Vaya is a new thing to us.

It’s an eye-opener. The presentation was very educational, especially when it comes to the location of the depot. We are definitely going to use the information we gained on this tour.”

 

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