Striking blue and red in colour, the newly built Rea Vaya stations at Soccer City will be ready to welcome the thousands of football fans making their way to the stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ games.

WITH the greatest sporting event in the world kicking off in the city on Friday, 11 June, Rea Vaya has prepared a special service to get spectators to and from the stadiums using its stations.

Get to the games safely with Rea Vaya

Soccer City is surrounded by three Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations, strategically built to get match goers speedily to the stadium through the longest manmade tunnel in Joburg.

One station is on the busy Soweto Highway opposite Soccer City, with two others inside the Nasrec Transport Hub.

The station at Soccer City will not form part of normal Rea Vaya service.

Lisa Seftel, the City’s executive director of transport, points out: “Soccer City Station is only open on match days. Do not expect to use it on other days.”

On arrival at the Nasrec stations, fans will walk through the new tunnel from the Nasrec Transport Hub under the Soweto Highway to Soccer City.

SAFETY

Nkosinathi Manzana, a senior development manager at the Johannesburg Development Agency, explains that the main reason for the underpass is for passengers to get safely from the station to the stadium without the risk of crossing at road level.

A walk to the stadium from the transport hub

The City is expecting approximately 20 000 extra Rea Vaya bus passengers on match days.

“We will be encouraging and informing spectators of various parking garages near the Rea Vaya stations which will be available for them to park their cars,” says Yolisa Mashilwane, the director of management support for transport.

On match days, there will also be transport from Sandton to Westgate Station, where Rea Vaya buses will take fans to the stadiums. Long distance buses and coaches will also drop passengers at Westgate Station.

“There will be scheduled long distance buses that will drop spectators in good time at Westgate [Rea Vaya] Station,” says Mashilwane.

Ticket prices for the Rea Vaya will cost R12 for a return trip. Ticket holders for the games are encouraged to buy return bus tickets to ensure a speedy trip back after the game and avoid long queues at stations.

“As World Cup fever mounts, we [the City] are urging all ticket holders to start planning their trips to the stadium,” says Rehana Moosajee, the portfolio head of transport. Spectators are urged “to buy their tickets early so that they can get space at their preferred venue”.

Spectators who do not have tickets, will not be able to enter the stadium environs, she adds.

There are allocated areas around the city that will operate as Park and Rides. These include Constitution Hill Park and Ride in Braamfontein.

CONSTITUTION HILL

Spectators wanting to use the Constitution Hill Park and Ride are encouraged to park their vehicles there, says Seftel. They must have a valid parking ticket and will be given a free Rea Vaya ticket.

Those who are parking at this facility can get there from the M1 highway, taking either the St Andrew’s Road off ramp from the M1 South or the M1 North. From St Andrew’s Road, turn at Victoria Street and move to Joubert Street Extension. The entrance is on the right.

A Park and Walk has been arranged near Soccer City. Spectators can park their vehicles at Shareworld, on Rand Show Road and around the Nasrec Expo Centre.

Passengers using the Park and Ride system must remember where they got off and go back to that particular station for their return trip: the station on the Soweto Highway is used for Constitution Hill, the BRT North for Westgate and the CBD, and BRT South for Soweto.

“We [the City] are very relieved by the fact that Sanral [South African National Roads Agency Limited] has agreed to open the new N17 link from the N1,” notes Nthatisi Modingoane, the deputy director of communications in Johannesburg.

For motorists travelling from the south on the N1, a new offramp will be open called N17, which spectators are urged to use this. Turn left and follow the signs to the Shareworld Park and Walk. This parking facility has approximately 4 500 parking spaces.

Other recommended routes include:

• From the M1 South, use Nasrec/ Eldorado Park turn off, and look for parking along Nasrec Road.
• From the Booysens area, Booysens Reserve Road can be used; follow the signs to the Shareworld Park and Walk.
• From the N1 South, take the Rand Show Road offramp and park at the Rand Show Park and Walk.
• From Soweto, use Ben Naude Road, which becomes Rand Show Road, and look for parking around the Nasrec Exhibition Centre.
• From the east, use Rifle Range Road and turn right into Nasrec Road.

All roads around Soccer City will only be open to match ticket holders who will be directed by law enforcement officers where to park. This will be done to avoid bottlenecks; other road users will be encouraged to use alternative routes and avoid Soccer City during games.

For more information on Park and Ride or Park and Walk ticketing, join Rea Vaya on Facebook page, or contact Joburg Connect on 011 375 5555.

Related stories:

• Get on board Rea Vaya for Soccer City
• Park and Ride/Walk tickets for Soccer World Cup available now
• New stations, ticketing building going up