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Rea Vaya commuters will need to purchase a new orange card in order to comply with the upgraded Account Based Ticketing system.
Rea Vaya buses parked at the Rea Vaya bus depot in Dobsonville. Pictures: Nigel Sibanda
Rea Vaya bus service users are reminded to switch out their rider cards before the looming deadline.
The bus service will be phasing in the Account Based Ticketing (ABT) system and moving away from the automated fare collection system.
The switch is part of a multi-million-rand project to improve the fare collection system, which was implemented to promote cashless operations.
New card purchase needed, no refunds
The new orange ABT card will be mandatory from 1 July, but the current blue smart card will no longer accept funds from next month.
“Commuters are informed that from 1 June they won’t be able to load funds into a blue smart card,” stated Rea Vaya.
“We advise for the funds in the card to be used up as there will be no refund,” the entity clarified.
The new orange cards will cost R50 and correspond to newly installed payment processors located at all Rea Vaya stations and buses.
Commuters are warned to be mindful of the new system, as they will be subject to fines for not using the new validators correctly.
“[A] fare penalty charge of R30 is incurred when passengers tap-in at the beginning of the journey but fail to tap-out at the end of the journey.
“You will also incur a penalty of R30 if you do not tap-out of the system within two hours,” Rea Vaya stated.
Rea Vaya Phase 1C
The municipality budgeted R300 million over two years to implement the ABT project and R170 million to finish Phase 1C of the Rea Vaya programme.
The Rea Vaya routes — Phases 1A, 1B and 1C — are owned by taxi operators and other shareholders under the Bus Operating Company Agreement (Boca) negotiated with the city.
The launch of Phase 1C is imminent, after delays in the 12-year agreement sealed with the Alexandra Taxi Association and Alexandra Randburg Midrand Sandton Taxi Association.
Rea Vaya has been plagued by management issues, with Phase 1C delayed by the inability to form an operating company, while earlier operators PioTrans needed to go into business rescue in 2023.
MMC for Transport Kenny Kunene stated that the Johannesburg Development Agency has assisted with infrastructure challenges and that it now has the necessary resources to deliver.
“The city has invested significant resources in training operators and drivers to enable them to successfully and safely run the new bus operating company,” said Kunene.
NOW READ: AA warms of ‘significant implications’ of underfunding Rea Vaya bus service
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