Have you seen the new, exciting inner city? Have you visited restaurants in Braamfontein or the Constitutional Court in Hillbrow? There's so much to see on the C3 route – and for a few days in October, it's free.

EXPLORE the Origins Centre, Constitutional Court, the Planetarium and many more inner city treasures for free this Transport Month with Rea Vaya.

Find your way with the interactive map

The bus rapid transit system will be offering its services free of charge on the C3 inner city route for five days – from 20 to 23 October – as part of the City's transport celebrations this month. The 20th of October is also Car Free Day.

Transport Month is traditionally held in October and activities kick off on 4 October with the Transport Department, Rea Vaya, Metrobus and the Johannesburg Roads Agency spending the day in Region A. City officials will be visiting all seven regions in Johannesburg as part of Transport Month events planned, which include visits to schools and community leader seminars.

Making the announcement at a special press conference at the Joburg Roads Agency in Sauer Street on 28 September, member of the mayoral committee for transport Rehana Moosajee said the month is an important time for everyone to reflect on challenges that continue to confront the transport sector, whilst simultaneously taking stock of progress made.

"Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the month is the opportunity to actively engage community members and a variety of stakeholders so that they become partners in shaping improvements in transport."

LONGER BUS HOURS

Celebrating its first year of successful operation on 30 August this year, Rea Vaya has also since extended its services due to popular demand, confirmed executive director for transport in the city, Lisa Seftel. Buses are now operating an hour later on weekdays, with the last vehicles departing at 9pm in the evening.

"Reports so far indicate that commuters are welcoming the new services and it is going well."

And to coincide with other Transport Month activities, Rea Vaya is also launching its first Sunday services on 3 October. Sunday services will be operating during off-peak times with a bus every 30 minutes, she said.

RAPIDLY EXPANDING

A major awareness drive among students to use the inner city route, the C3 also forms part of Rea Vaya's activities this month. The route is currently underutilised. Rea Vaya tickets will soon be available on University of Johannesburg and University of the Witwatersrand campuses and campus radio stations will be roped into the publicity drive.

"We want to popularise patronage of the C3 service, particularly among students," Seftel added.

Rea Vaya runs past the Wits campus in Braamfontein and the UJ Doornfontein campus in Saratoga Road and will extend its services to the main UJ campus in Kingsway Road when infrastructure upgrades are completed in 2011.

Considered to be the City's biggest public transport project to date, the Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system is about to reach another major milestone with the taxi industry going through the induction process and eventual handover of Clidet, the special purpose vehicle that was established to enable the piloting of the Rea Vaya project. This process is currently underway.

Moosajee said that the City has accepted from the beginning that the Rea Vaya project will be shaped by existing public transport operations, particularly taxi operators in the area. The City's engagement with the taxi industry is now four years in the making, she added. The culmination of this process will be reached with the official handover of all operations to a Bus Operating Company run by the industry, expected to take place in November.

"Ultimately Rea Vaya is about the needs of the commuter. We will not be derailed."

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