My Go!Durban Race through the city in public transport

THE GO!Durban project which has plans to provide a fully integrated rapid public transport network (IRPTN) for commuters of eThekwini has started to roll-out ahead of major milestones in the first quarter of this year.

Stakeholders from the Go!Durban team, Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA) and other stakeholders including city manager, S’bu Sithole were invited with local media to participate in the Go!Durban Race on Friday, 24 January to accustom them to the city’s current public transport system.

I haven’t used public transport in Durban for quite a few years so when an opportunity to try out the Go!Durban integrated transport system came along in the form of an “Amazing Race” type of challenge, I was excited. We met early at the Durban Station for the start of the race, where we were given a brief overview of the race and divided into colour-coded groups. City manager, Sibusiso Sithole said the city wanted to create a revolutionary situation were all the people of Durban could benefit from the IRPTN.

“We have made agreements with PRASA, the bus and taxi operators and see that people are very happy so we want to create more awareness of the Go!Durban project. Everybody must embrace public transport,” he said. After fun icebreakers, the race was on and each group had to run to the ticketing office to purchase train tickets to KwaMashu, which was our first stop. The train ride was amazing, offering a completely different view of the city. The city’s future vision is to be one of Africa’s leading metropolitan areas by 2030 and the IRPTN will soon revolutionize and modernize the way of life for all citizens, tourists and business people travelling through Durban. After a beautiful scenic train ride to KwaMashu, it occured to many in the race that train rides in general were an amazing way of getting around.

Many thought a party train would be a great idea. Chatter of the 35 degree heat was peppered with talk about train surfing. We were rushed up to the KwaMashu station where all race participants split into their groups for team building challenges. I was thrilled when my “out of the box” thinking got my team through the first challenge, but having a busy Friday, I had to unfortunately leave the race early because work beckoned me back to the city, but I left promising to catch up with the group when they returned to the city later in the day.

After the challenges, I joined a team in a taxi returning to People’s Park. Smiling and asking nicely the “Quality Time” minibus taxi driver, Wele Majozi, was kind enough to detour from the race to drop me back at Durban Station, where I fetched my car. Being back in a taxi after about 10 years, I was surprised to learn that the pink and black interior of the taxi had cctv cameras. Wele said the owner had them installed as a safety measure in case an incident occurred whilst in the taxi or even in the case of an accident. The loud house music that blared through the speakers made me smile remembering my campus and early working days when friends would zoom to various spots in the city ‘after’ lectures. I did have to shout to speak to the other team mates, some of whom had never been on a taxi and were shuddering while the music assaulted their ears. “He’s on the phone!, the poor woman next to me said indicating the driver, and I laughed and said I was just glad he wasn’t texting!

In my absence the teams proceeded to Bridge City by taxi for more challenges at their stop before heading to Pinetown for a few more team building exercises and back to Warwick Avenue and the CBD. I managed to get back to the race by roping a friend into driving me to the People Mover bus stop at Warwick Avenue, unfortunately with Friday traffic and public transport schedules, we missed the bus, but I caught it on Dr Yusuf Dadoo (Grey) Street and thankfully after a short sprint made it into the bus to join the participants and regular commuters, with my fancy new MUVO card, so no bus fare was needed (the card is a cashless card system).

After driving down central town in the People Mover, I realised again how picturesque our city was as we passed the Grey Street Mosque and City Hall. When you’re behind the wheel, you aren’t able to take in the beauty that is Durban. My short bus ride ended on Dr Pixley KaSeme Street (West) and was followed by a quick walk across to and through The Workshop for our final leg of the race: a bicycle ride to Moses Mabhida Stadium People’s Park.

Now I loved to cycle as a child but was quite rusty and after having to get off the saddle on a bicycle city tour in Amsterdam two years ago, I vowed I would practice on the beach until I was efficient. So, after recently acquiring a bike, with only a few rounds around the beachfront promenade and Peoples Park under my belt, I determinedly handed my camera to the organisers for safe keeping, I grabbed a bottle of water..it was about 35 degrees at that point and saddled up with the other teams, ready for the 3km ride to the stadium. If you ever want to conquer a fear of trucks in traffic, try cycling alongside them! I cycled alongside Thami Manyathi, the Head of ETA who ensured I was not left behind, although when I finally breezed in through the finish line I was happy to note that there were a few cyclists still behind me. What a sense of achievement, I would never have guessed that I would ever cycle on the road!

The day ended with boerewors and burgers and lots of cool drinks and chats about what an eye-opener the race was for the stakeholders. PRASA’s Danny Hutton said, “I didn’t realise how long it takes to get around town! It was a real learning experience and we will definitely work with eThekwini to make the IRPTN system work better for our commuters.” ETA Deputy Head, Erik Moller concurred, “There is still a lot to do. Many of us drive in our private cars and don’t experience public transport, so this has encouraged us to work as a team with all stakeholders to make this Go!Durban project go!” After my experience of a day full of public transport I know that a lot more needs to be done to persuade the man in the car to take the bus, or train or even cycle in our city, however I also believe once the city has more pieces to the IRPTN rolled out, the Go Durban project will be one exciting way of getting around town. One that I definitely look forward to trying out. Visit the GO!Durban website www.godurban.co.za for more information, Access to more information on the project, Tender Applications, Construction, Information Days, Community engagement and other public forums or engagements.