Transport planners and operators from the United States and Ghana are keen to find out how Johannesburg had successfully implemented its BRT system.

TRANSPORT planners and operators from the United States and Ghana have joined the many other international visitors that have come to Joburg to study its public transport system since the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in June.

Speaking to station staff

Other delegations have come from Senegal and Germany.

The most recent request from the United States came via the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, an organisation working worldwide to bring about sustainable transport solutions. It helped with the planning involved in the successful implementation of Rea Vaya.

The Department of Transport was also contacted by the Ghanaian authorities, and the joint expedition was organised.

The delegates spent Monday morning, 8 November in a seminar opened by Member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport Rehana Moosajee. The seminar looked at transport planning in Johannesburg, the Rea Vaya BRT system, Metrobus and the Gautrain. They were then taken on a tour of the Rea Vaya routes.

The tour was conducted by Charles Block, Rea Vaya's director of infrastructure, and included stops at the Soccer City and Thokoza Park stations. Along with Block's wealth of knowledge on all things Rea Vaya, the delegates learned about Joburg's history from Moosajee, who also went along for the ride.

She said: "The work Johannesburg has done in terms of transport interventions in the run up to the World Cup has really put Joburg on the map."

It was the third leg of the American delegates' tour of various transport systems. Over the past two weeks, they have been to Turkey and Egypt.

Taking a tour around the City

Yvette Taylor, the regional administrator of the US department of transportation, was thoroughly impressed by the standard of the buses and their efficiency. "What I was expecting is so far from what I've come to learn. I feel completely safe and at ease not only on Rea Vaya but in Johannesburg as a whole."

Moosajee was grateful for the international interest, saying: "Ongoing engagements are very useful as they give you a sense that you are not alone in public transport challenges and that there is an international bedrock of wisdom to be drawn from.

"There are always lessons to be shared and learned, both from our perspective as well as that from the guests on what exactly the key issues are that are required for public transport transformation projects."

GHANA

Gyamera said Accra faced problems similar to those Johannesburg confronted with its taxi operators when the BRT system was rolled out. "Coming here has allowed me to further investigate how Johannesburg moved past these stumbling blocks, and perhaps implement them in Accra."

Moosajee added: "We want the entire transport system to become commuter-scentric and put the needs of the user at the centre of the system. Through hosting delegates from around the world we are able to humble ourselves and not only be praised for the work we've done but also be criticised and better the work we do in the future."

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