Master design plans for the extension of Tshwane’s R2.6 billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system to the Silver Lakes and Hazeldean areas are already in place but it is expected the infrastructure will only be completed by 2020.
The BRT system, known as A Re Yeng, forms part of the city’s revitalisation project and when completed, will consist of some 80 kilometres of dedicated bus lanes and 62 stations and will run from Mabopane in the north-west through the Pretoria CBD, Hatfield, past Menlyn and the Silver Lakes area to Mamelodi.
Starting in Hatfield towards the CBD, the first phase of the system has been fully operational since December 2014.
According to Hendrik van Zyl, project manager at development giant Abland which has undertaken the construction of the multi-billion rand Hazeldean precinct that would eventually form the “east capital” of the Tshwane metro, plans for the extension of A Re Yeng had already been incorporated in the road structure development of Hazeldean.
This had been done in partnership with the Tshwane roads department.
“In terms of the Hazeldean development we have done a detailed road reserve design to accommodate landscaping, cycle lanes, pedestrian walkways, road surfaces for vehicles and space for incorporation of the A Re Yeng in our master planning along major arterial routes,” Van Zyl said.
Currently there were two potential links proposed from the metro planning for the eastern route of the BRT – the one link of A Re Yeng coming from the north through Mamelodi into Hazeldean and a second alternative to the south along Lynnwood/Graham Road up into Hazeldean from the Menlyn area, he said.
Van Zyl however stressed that the timing of these services was still far into the future as the links from the existing network must first be extended outwards to the east.
“But we have planned for this in our master design and once Tshwane links are ready, we can seamlessly link into the existing network being expanded upon by the metro,” he told Rekord.
According to Tshwane mayoral spokesman Blessing Manale, the Menlyn route of the BRT to Denneboom Station in Mamelodi should be completed by the end of June 2017 with a feeder service from Mahube Valley to Denneboom.
Manale said annual public transport infrastructure grants had already been allocated for the next five years.
Once fully operational, the BRT system would use about 340 buses, some of which would be powered by alternative energy sources and would travel on segregated right-of-way infrastructure. The buses would run from 06:00 in the morning until 20:00 on weekdays and on Saturday evenings until 23:30 with two to four minute intervals during peak periods and seven to ten minutes during off-peak times.
Pretoria will be the fourth city in the country with a bus rapid transit system, joining Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.
Read: Debate on BRT route still ongoing
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