Following his recent appointment as Member of the Mayoral Committee for Roads and Transport for the City of Ekurhuleni, Petrus Mhlarhi states that the city is still set on implementing its integrated rapid public transport network (IRPTN), which will ease travel for communities in the city.

Mhlarhi has been impressed with the progress made so far and says the city is still envisioning the completion of Phase 1 of the project by June next year, in a bid to complete it earlier than that.

Phase 1 will involve improving existing road infrastructure and ensuring that all public transport modes are connected and operate seamlessly between Tembisa, Kemp- ton Park and Vosloorus. This will ensure that people can commute to and around the city securely.

In June this year, City of Ekur- huleni roads and transport head of department Yolisa Mashilwane told Engineering News that the city envisioned completion of Phase 1 by March next year, three months earlier than indicated by Mhlarhi.

However, Mhlarhi notes that this is as a result of the plan that includes the refurbishing of taxi ranks within this financial year, which will form part of the IRPTN, to make them user friendly.

He adds that, to date, the City of Ekurhuleni has deployed a Transition Technical Team, which comprises city officials, and taxi owner representatives who are affected by the IRPTN, to discuss the progress of the network and how it will affect taxi drivers.

Another highlight of the IRPTN is that the building of the Transport Management Centre, in Kempton Park, is scheduled for completion within the next three months. The centre will manage the movement of buses.

The project, which will consist of four phases on completion, will be realised through multiyear budgets throughout the City of Ekurhuleni.

Phase 2 is expected to include a network from Kempton Park through Rhodesfield to Germiston, while Phase 3 will include a network through Duduza, Kwa Thema, Tsakane and Brakpan, and Phase 4 a network through Etwatwa, Daveyton and Benoni.

This project will also contribute to the economy by creating jobs during the different phases, says Mhlarhi.

To date, the project has been able to create 900 jobs during Phase 1, which should increase when the next phases start.