City of Johannesburg’s Members of Mayoral Committee for Transport, Cllr. Nonhlanhla Makhuba and Development Planning, Cllr. Funzela Ngobeni officiated the sod turning ceremony of Phase 1 of the Rea Vaya Selby Depot and handed over the Booysens Layover.
Both the Selby Depot and Booysens Layover form part of Rea Vaya Phase 1B projects. The Booysens Layover was completed in 2016. The development of the Booysens bus layover was conceived to cater for daytime requirements of the Phase 1B BRT operations which are on the Soweto to CBD route, via Auckland Park. It is also meant to accommodate the assembly of the Phase 1B bus fleet and also serve as a dispatch point for the return trip to the main Meadowlands depot.
The City formally handed over this facility to Phase 1B bus operating company, Litsamaiso. MMC for Transport Cllr. Nonhlanhla Makhuba said, “the layover includes daytime facilities for drivers including a change room, kitchen and recreational area. But most of the 22 000 square kms site is covered with concrete paving for bus parking. It also has a WiFi network for important data download on operations and revenue information when passenger tap on and off with their cards on feeder buses.”
The Selby Depot itself is intended to serve as the main inner city depot. The first phase entails the construction of the perimeter fence, bus parking area platform, site access road, administration building, main parking area driveway upgrade and the construction main entrance road into the Depot (along Pat Mbatha road intersection with Ignatius Street).
Once completed the Depot’s main features will include an administration building, maintenance building, washing and refuelling bays and Intelligent Transport System (ITS) control centre. The administration block has the ablution facilities, canteen, offices and staff and visitors parking.
The Depot will be utilized for major and minor maintenance of busses, by maintaining in service busses and out of service busses. It is anticipated that the entire project of Selby BRT Bus Depot will be completed by 2018 at an estimated cost of R250 million.
“Public transport and related infrastructure has been seen as an instrument for change; with initiatives encouraging transit services to function at an optimum level and help contribute to reshaping urban form catalyse further development in the inner city and the City as a whole” said MMC for Development Planning, Cllr. Funzela Ngobeni in his opening address.
Ends
Issued by:
Johannesburg Development Agency
Email: smonyai@jda.org.za