More ReaVaya stations completed

Takalani Sioga 

The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) has announced completion of eight Rea Vaya Phase 1C stations along the Louis Botha and Katherine streets corridor.

  JDA’s project manager Zwakele Magagula says two more stations worth R10-million, under construction at the Metro Centre in Braamfontein since May last year, will be completed within two months.

  “We also need to construct three more stations at Park Station, Gandhi Square and Sandton City,” Magagula adds.

  He says this Corridors of Freedom project will provide a seamless link between southern suburbs, the Joburg CBD and Sandton City. “Commuters will be able to travel conveniently between these places, with buses running on their own dedicated lanes on the main trunk and complementary routes.”

  He adds that the multimillion rand project is part of the City’s plan for residents to work and live closer to public transport facilities.

  Magagula says it was necessary for the JDA to build new stations even though they are in close proximity to phase 1A and 1B stations.

  “The new Rea Vaya stations are different from the previous ones as they are low-floor based, as opposed to the previously constructed high floor stations on phase 1A & 1B routes. The change is due to the Department of Transport’s directive for cities to procure low-floor buses in future infrastructure roll-outs. This meant that the stations have to differ from previously constructed ones,” he explains.

  Magagula says the current construction phase created over 250 temporary job opportunities for residents.

  Developed in 2010, initial Rea Vaya routes only covered Soweto and the Joburg CBD. The City is now adding a trunk route from Soweto to Sandton, and has feeder and complementary routes covering most of Johannesburg. Future plans include expanding the network to cover Midrand, Randburg and Rosebank.