Ticket sales steady

Details

22 October 2012

PASSENGERS are voting with their cash – Rea Vaya ticket sales are impressive, and are holding steady after starting on a high when operations began three years ago.

Rea Vaya ticket sales are impressive, and are holding steady.

COMMUTERS agree: Rea Vaya is a safe, fast and affordable way to travel, according to a recent review of ticket sales, which shows a steady ridership.

Analysing ticket sales, Refig van Greuning, the operations manager at Traffic Management Technologies, said no drastic fluctuations had been recorded in the number of tickets sales recently. These had remained stable and had attracted new commuters.

“It’s a sign that commuters are staying with the system,” Van Greuning said. “We are doing well. There hasn’t been any major change in statistics, and at some stages we were able to attract new commuters on board.”

He based his analysis on figures from August, drawing a comparison with previous sales from as far back as January. He also pointed out that when Rea Vaya first began operations, in 2009 and running up to the football World Cup in 2010, the numbers started on a high and then kept steady.

Rea Vaya’s ticketing system is managed by Traffic Management Technologies South Africa.

Ticket sales

Rea Vaya is a safe, fast and affordable way to travel, according to a recent review of ticket sales.

In August, 99 224 station tickets priced at R4,50 each were sold; 392 062 tickets priced at R8,50 were sold; and 92 889 of the highest priced tickets of R12,50 were sold. In total, 584 175 station tickets were sold in the month.

The same trend could be seen in sales of vendor tickets. These are tickets sold by independent vendors outside stations, along feeder and complementary routes where there are no Rea Vaya stations. In this sector, a total of 275 700 tickets priced at R4,50 were sold; 108 600 tickets priced at R8,50 were sold; and 30 500 tickets priced at R12,50 were sold. A total of 414 800 vendor tickets were sold in August.

Van Greuning said more than a million tickets were sold each month. Since its start in 2009, Rea Vaya had been able to cement its position and be competitive enough to keep commuters.

Commuters per day

At present, more than 40 000 people travel on Rea Vaya buses daily to and from work in its Phase 1A operations, which trails between Soweto and Johannesburg CBD. Van Greuning raised the possibility of increased ridership when new routes connecting to the trunk route opened in the near future.

“We have done fairly well and have remained stable throughout,” he said. “The numbers show that our commuters have confidence in the system and the reason why they are staying.”

The routes

Phase 1A, which runs between Soweto and the Johannesburg CBD, consists of three categories of routes. The trunk route is the main route. It stretches from Ellis Park in Doornfontein, in the east, all the way to Thokoza Park in Soweto, in the west. This route is known as T1.

Then there are complementary routes, which are extended circular routes to the main and feeder routes. They travel through outer suburbs that connect with the trunk route at key stations. There are three types of complementary route – the C1, C2 and C3.

Finally, there are feeder routes, which connect outer suburbs with the trunk route. They are divided into five types – F1, F2, F3, F4 and F5.

Rea Vaya buses are marked according to the route on which they travel. The routes are designed to enable the system to run as rapidly as possible, hence the buses travel in dedicated lanes.

The trunk route from Ellis Park East Station goes through the inner city, past Orlando Stadium and ends at Thokoza Park Station. This route is marked in red. It services commuters coming from Thokoza Park to Johannesburg CBD, passing Park Station and Civic Centre Braamfontein. Tickets are R6 for a one-way trip.

Complementary routes, marked in blue, run between Soweto, Dobsonville and the CBD. Buses on this route travel from Ellis Park East Station to Market Street in the CBD, to Westgate and Orlando Stadium and then to Dobsonville.

The C1 route is marked in dark blue; it runs between Soweto, Dobsonville and the CBD. Tickets are R6 for a one-way trip.

Buses bearing the C3 marking travel locally from Chancellor House Station in Fox Street past Wits University and Joburg Theatre Complex in Braamfontein and on to the Johannesburg Art Gallery Station in Joubert Park, before going along Constitution Hill and back to Chancellor House in a large circle. A single trip on this trip costs R3,50.

F1 buses travel from Naledi, passed Thokoza Park, to the CBD. They depart Naledi bound for the nearest Rea Vaya trunk route station at Thokoza Park. Trips on all feeder routes, which are marked in purple, are R9,50 each.

The second feeder route, the F2, goes from Protea Glen to Thokoza Park and then on to Ellis Park. Buses travel from Protea Glen to the closest Rea Vaya trunk route station at Thokoza Park. From there, the buses continue to the CBD and Ellis Park.

The F3 links Jabavu to the closest Rea Vaya trunk route station, Lake View Station. From there, the buses continue on to the CBD and Ellis Park.

Buses on the F4 route drive from Mofolo to the closest Rea Vaya trunk route station at Boomtown, and then carry on to the CBD and Ellis Park. Finally, F5 buses travel from Eldorado Park to the closest Rea Vaya trunk route station, at Lake View. From there, they go on to the CBD and Ellis Park.

Bus frequency

In peak hours, there is a bus every 15 minutes; in off-peak hours there is a 20 minute interval between buses.

Jobs

A total of 830 permanent jobs were created when Phase IA began operating. This number includes 200 bus drivers brought in from the taxi industry. They were trained and employed full time. A further 256 jobs were created in the bus operating company, PioTrans; and 250 in the Metropolitan Trading Company.

These jobs encompass cashiers, station ambassadors, and station customer marshals.

In addition, 240 job placements were recorded in security and cleaning contracts for stations; 40 of those were created at Rea Vaya, most in administration.