A Re Yeng – Tshwane Rapid Transit system, South Africa

30th August 2013

  

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Name and Location
A Re Yeng – Tshwane Rapid Transit (TRT) system, Gauteng, South Africa.

Client
City of Tshwane.

Project Description
The Tshwane bus rapid transit (BRT) system, know as A Re Yeng, or Let’s Go, forms part of the City of Tshwane’s 2055 Growth and Development Strategy.  The City of Tshwane has established a set of objectives that is intended to transform the public transport system by providing high-quality, yet affordable, public transport. 

The 56 km of trunk route, featuring BRT buses in dedicated lanes stopping at dedicated stations, will run from Wonderboom to Denneboom, with passengers transported to trunk route stations using complementary or feeder routes.

The entire BRT system will link Kopanong, in the north-west of Tshwane, to Denneboom, in the north-east, following a u-shaped route and traversing the inner city.

TRT Phase 1 will be completed in five infrastructure construction phases.

The 7 km, Phase 1A leg of the BRT system will run from Nana Sita, in the central business district, (CBD) to Hatfield.

It is expected that Phase 1A of the system will ramp up to transporting 7 800 passengers a day, with the final system running at 136 000 passenger trips a day in 2017. During this phase, about 30 buses will operate with and provide direct services between the CBD and Hatfield, with buses running every seven minutes along this trunk corridor. Feeders will also serve the corridor, running at 15-minute headways, and docking with the trunk stations at Nana Sita 1, Sunnyside 1 and Sunnyside 2 stations.

Phase 1B will run from Hatfield to Menlyn and Phase 1C from the CBD to Rainbow Junction.

The Tshwane BRT comprises 18 m articulated buses, each carrying 90 people, and 12 m buses, each carrying 60 people.

An estimated 174 buses will be procured for the system and will comply with the latest European emission standards. The city has further approved a decision to roll out compressed natural gas fuel for at least 30% of the TRT bus fleet, after Phase 1A. This is part of the city’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions while driving sustainability.

The low-floor buses are easily accessible to children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

The City of Tshwane has chosen two designs for the stations.

Memory Box concept stations will be located in the CBD. They will include imagery and information on the historic buildings surrounding them.

The Retro-Tram design will be used for the stations located outside the CBD. The concept is intended to evoke the imagery of the city’s historical tram lines, realised in a modern style.

Payment on the BRT system will be by smartcard and should be compatible with other public-transport smartcard systems.

Value
The City of Tshwane has secured R3.2-billion in funding from national government over the next three years.

Duration
Construction for Phase 1A of the city’s TRT system, which will be rolled out in 2014, has started. The system is officially on track according to the milestones and timelines outlined for the Hatfield station project, for which the sod-turning ceremony took place in July 2012.

Phase 1B – Hatfield (University road) to Menlyn, or the BRT line 2B – is expected to be completed in March 2016.

Phase 1C – the CBD (Scheiding street) to Menlyn, or the BRT line 1A – is scheduled for completion in August 2015, and the Rainbow Junction to Akasia-Kopanong section, or BRT line 1B, in October 2016.

Phase 1D – Menlyn to Denneboom station, or BRT line 2C – is scheduled for completion in June 2017.

Latest Developments
On March 19, 2013, the project’s identity was lauched by the Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane, Cllr  Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. The naming of the system was a result of a public participation process whereby the city’s residents decided on the name A Re Yeng, which means Lets go.  

On June 4 this year, the City of Tshwane signed a historic memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the minibus taxi industry on the A Re Yeng TRT system.  The signing of the MoA was preceeded by the bus operators signing an MoA with the city on the day of the A Re Yeng launch.

The MoA means that the city and the industry have reached consensus in the implementation of the TRT and endorses the participation of the industry as the key stakeholder.

Subsequent agreements concluded with the affected operators included an agreement for an employment framework and value chain agreements.

Meanwhile, the construction of the first TRT prototype station, in Hatfield, is almost complete, with the structure completed and roadworks 90% complete. 

The Hatfield station is based on the Retro Tram concept. The style of the station is evocative of the old tramlines, updated with a distinctly sleek and contemporary design. The terminal’s design specifications were largely informed by the low-floor bus layout that the system will use and, as an urban bus system, it needed to conform to the city environment.  As such, it will be located in the middle of the road, between driving lanes, allowing convenient entry from either side of the street and eliminating the need for a bus station on either side of the road.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Lonerock Construction (BRT Line 1A: Roadway – Pretoria street to Venter street); Mivami Construction (BRT Line 1A: Roadway – Venter street to Louis Trichardt street); Vharanani Properties and Boitshoko Road Surfacing joint venture (BRT Line 1A: Roadway – Louis Trichardt street to Rainbow Junction); seven contractors from the Contractor Development Programme (BRT Line 1C: NMT Facilities  – Kopanong station); Superway Construction (BRT Line 2A: Roadway  – Nana Sita street); Bophelong Construction (BRT Line 2A: Roadway – Kotze street to Lynnwood/ University road); and Bona Consulting (urban traffic control).

On Budget and on Time?
This is a 3.2 billion project and the project is on time.

Contact Details for Project Information
TRT project leader Lungile Madlala, tel +27 12 358 4091, fax 086 241 8303 or email  lungilem@tshwane.gov.za.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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